Korean golfers sit out LPGA Tournament of Champions

Ko Jin-young in action at the ME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on Nov. 17, 2022 in Naples, Florida. [YONHAP]

The LPGA Tour returns Wednesday with the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, but none of the five eligible Korean golfers are headed to Orlando, Florida to take part.

The Tournament of Champions is open to winners from the 2021 or 2022 LPGA Tour, competing in a pro-am tournament alongside 53 celebrities with $1.5 million on the line.

The five Korean players who are eligible to participate in the tournament are: Ko Jin-young, who racked up six wins over the two years; Kim Hyo-joo, who won the 2021 HSBC Women's World Championship and 2022 Lotte Championship; Chun In-gee, who won the 2022 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the only Korean major winner last year; Park In-bee, who won the 2021 Kia Classic; and Ji Eun-hee, who the 2022 Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play.

Park is currently pregnant with her first child and is sitting out all tournaments, while Ko is focusing on rehabilitating a wrist injury that she has been struggling with since last year.

As players are not required to compete, neither Chun, Ji, or Kim have given specific reasons for skipping the tournament.

Ko, who has sat out the Tournament of Champions for the last three years, would have been subject to a $25,000 fine for missing this year's tournament under the LPGA one-in-four rule that stipulates players in the top 80 in the CME points list have to compete in domestic events at least once every four years. Ko appealed the fine on the grounds of injury rehabilitation and is believed to have avoided the fine this year.

The Korean golfers are not the only ones sitting out the pro-am. Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the current world No. 1 on the Rolex Women's World Rankings, will also not compete, and is expected to make her first appearance this year on March 2.

While the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions is officially the first event of the 2023 Tour, the exclusivity of the entry and its status as a pro-am means that for many top golfers and fans, it counts as more of a soft opening than the start of the new season proper.

The Tour will get into full swing on Feb. 23 with the Honda LPGA Thailand, after which regular weekly or biweekly tournaments will begin.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]