Inbee Park won’t defend her title at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational next week or play in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, but there’s good news from the Olympic gold medalist, LPGA Hall of Famer and former Rolex world No. 1.
She’s out of that protective cast on her injured left thumb and beginning to practice again.
“Her recovery is on the right track, and she is improving,” Matt Kim, Park’s agent, told GolfChannel.com. “Inbee is trying her best to be back on the golf course as soon as possible.”
Park has not been able to compete since winning gold in Rio de Janeiro. She put on a remarkable effort in the Olympics, playing through the pain of injury in the tendon and ligament of her left thumb, an injury that plagued her most of this year. She avoided surgery after Rio, healing with the thumb in a protective cast for a month, according to Kim. She won’t be rushing her return to competition and that means delaying a return to competition until next year.
“She decided to rest for the rest of the 2016 season, since the injury might recur,” Kim said. “She cautiously started to practice a few weeks ago. Her main objective is to become in full condition by end of this year and be back on the golf course to commit to a full season in 2017.”
