Yoon Ina admits she played the wrong ball during the Korea Women's Open

Yoon Ina plays her second shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Hoban Seoul Shinmun Women's classic at H1 Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi on Friday. [KLPGA]

Golfer Yoon Ina released a statement Monday admitting that she played the wrong golf ball on the 15th hole during the first round of the DB Group Korea Women's Open Golf Championship on June 16.

Playing the wrong ball means that after her tee shot, Yoon continued to play the hole with another ball — presumably one that fell in a more advantageous position than her own — to finish the hole.

Following the announcement, Yoon voluntarily withdrew from the remainder of the KLPGA season. No decision has been made by the Korea Golf Association on whether she will face official punishment.

Yoon's agency released a statement on Monday saying that Yoon was first accused on July 14 of playing the wrong ball during the first round of the Korea Women's Open.

On July 15, Yoon admitted she had in a voluntary report to the Korea Golf Association.

On July 18, Yoon was retroactively disqualified from the Korea Women's Open, although she had failed to make the cut at the tournament anyway.

When Yoon was first accused on July 14 of playing the wrong ball during the Korea Women's Open, she was in the middle of playing the first round of the Evercollagen Queens Crown 2022, which she went on to win three days later, her first-ever KLPGA title.

According to the statement on Monday, Yoon on June 16 was looking for her ball on the 15th hole of the first round of the Korea Women's Open after her tee shot flew to the right of the fairway. She says she was told by people around her that a ball that was found inside the deep rough was hers.

Yoon, who is playing her rookie season this year, acknowledged that she realized shortly after that it wasn't her ball but kept on playing because she did not know what to do, having never been in a similar situation before.

Yoon also apologized to her fellow golfers and fans and added that she will accept the Korea Golf Association's decision.

Yoon's most recent competition was the Hoban Seoul Shinmun Women's classic that finished Sunday, where she tied for 15th.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]