Completed the first round despite a pre-match back injury
Sought his playing partners' understanding in person before the second round
Park Sang-hyun (43, Dong-A Pharmaceutical), the all-time leading money winner on the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) Tour, showed exemplary sportsmanship on the course.
Park withdrew ahead of the second round of the 21st DB Insurance Promy Open, which was scheduled for April 17 at the Old Course (par 72) at La Vie en Belle Golf & Resort in Chuncheon, Gangwon.
He shot a 73 (one over) in the opening round — an eagle, two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. The gap to the leaders (5 under) wasn’t insurmountable, and having won this event in 2022, Park knows the course better than most.
Park said the withdrawal was due to a back injury.
His lower back had been bothering him even before the first round. He frequently grabbed his back during play and clearly showed signs of pain. Still, he finished the round, demonstrating strong professional commitment.
The following day, however, he couldn’t stand on the tee. He didn’t make it up to the tournament office on the second floor to submit his withdrawal; instead he told staff at the score desk that he could not continue.
After that, Park went to the 10th hole and personally apologized to his scheduled playing partners, Ham Jung-woo and Kim Hong-taek. It’s a rare sight to see a withdrawing player approach his partners directly to ask for their understanding.
When asked about his condition, Park sighed and said, “My back has bothered me before. When I concentrate on play, sometimes I don’t feel the pain, and it wasn’t this bad through the season opener. But my back hurt during the pro-am and practice rounds. I thought playing would make it better, but that didn’t happen.”
He explained why he went to apologize to Ham and Kim in person. “You should play as long as you can, and if you come to the course you should try to finish. But I realized I truly couldn’t continue, so I went to greet my playing partners and the association staff out of respect, asked for their understanding, and then withdrew,” he said.
On when he might return, Park added, “I don’t know exactly yet. I want to get to a hospital and get treatment so I can come back as soon as possible.”
Park is a “living legend” on the KPGA Tour with 14 career wins. He has earned 5,893,720,000 KRW (approximately $4.42 million), ranking first all-time in career earnings on the tour.
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