(Reuters) – Ko Jin-young will look to collect a third consecutive CME Group Tour Championship this week in Naples, Florida but the South Korean will need to battle through a nagging wrist injury that causes her pain on every shot.
World number four Ko has struggled in the two events she has played since returning in October after taking two months off to deal with a wrist injury that has plagued her since last season.
“It’s ok, but not good,” Ko, who counts two majors among her 13 LPGA victories, said in her pre-tournament news conference this week at Tiburon Golf Club when asked about her wrist.
Ko said her pain level on a scale of 1-10 is a “seven or eight now” compared to a “two or three” at last month’s BMW Ladies Championship where she withdrew after going 15 over par through two rounds of the no-cut event in South Korea.
The 27-year-old Ko, who missed the cut last week at the Pelican Women’s Championship, was asked why she is continuing to play given her pain level.
“Well, I just want to know what problems are in my game right now,” said Ko. “I was debating whether I should go back to the States or not to play the last two tournaments until I got on the plane.
“Even though I am having a hard time right now, the two events will make me stronger.”
Ko, who said there is nothing she can do for her wrist beyond taping it up and taking medicine, has no plans to have surgery during the offseason but will try blood spinning, also known as platelet-rich plasma therapy.
Adversity is nothing new for Ko, who won last year’s Tour Championship while dealing with the same wrist injury, and she is eager try again this week at Tiburon where the $2 million winner’s prize is the largest in the history of women’s golf.
“I have great memories here,” said Ko. “Last two years I had two wins, so I’m happy to be here. And I like to play this golf course, but it’s not easy.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
