Chun In-gee drops out due to backpain during tournament

Chun In-gee (Hite Jinro) left a tournament due to the reoccurring backache.

Before starting her second round at the KLPGA KB Finance Star Championship held at Lakewood CC (Par 72) in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province on Friday, Chun announced her withdrawal after shaking hands with t-box partners Park Sung-hyun and Koh Jin-young at the 10th hole. The defending champion, who had risked her injuries and recorded under par (-2) at the first round, checked her condition at the field Friday and decided to leave the tournament.

After Chun left the field, this season's 1st and 2nd top earners Park and Koh led the competition, as if the two players held a match play. With four shots lesser than her previous record, Park has tied for the first place with Lee Mi-hyang, Kim Hye-rim, Ahn Shi-hyun at 9 under par. Koh followed the lead with 8 under par as she recorded 4 under pars for two consecutive days.

In the race for her eight-consecutive season wins, Park said, "I was disturbed until I reached the fourth hole after failing to record a double-bogey at the 18th hole. It's fortunate that I stopped the mistake at that point and got back on track."

김종석기자 kjs0123@donga.com