Sports Briefs

FOOTBALL

Augsburg set to release Koo for rest of season, agent says

Koo Ja-cheol, FC Augsburg’s Korean midfielder, will not play for the remainder of the German Bundesliga season due to an injury, the player’s Seoul-based agency said Tuesday.

Koo is hoping for a full recovery before the FIFA World Cup.

An official with Woul Sport said Augsburg decided not to play Koo in their remaining three league matches this season.

Augsburg, currently 11th in the 18-team league, will face Hertha Berlin, Schalke 04 and SC Freiburg to wrap up their Bundesliga campaign.

“Since the World Cup is important to the player, Augsburg said they will not play Koo in the three Budesliga matches,” the official said. “We heard Koo needs two or three weeks to recover from his injury. Augsburg will soon confirm their decision.”

Koo injured his left knee during Augsburg’s 2-0 win over Mainz on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who started as a defensive midfielder in the match, had to leave the pitch in the 63rd minute due to the injury.

“Koo seems to have injured his knee ligament,” the official said. “He may come to Korea and receive treatment for his injury.”

GOLF

Website for International Crown goes online

The official website for an LPGA team competition set to take place in Korea has opened, the event’s organizers said Tuesday.

The 2018 UL International Crown will be the third edition and first to be played outside the United States. The Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon will be the venue.

At the biennial event, eight countries are represented by four players each. The field of 32 players is determined by world ranking, and the four highest-ranked golfers for each nation are eligible. It takes a different format than the Solheim Cup, another international competition in women’s golf that has been pitting Americans against Europeans since 1990.

The Solheim Cup has left out some of the best golfers from other parts of the world, namely Korea, for years the most dominant country in women’s golf.

Yonhap