Inbee Park withdraws from Women's British Open
Friday 22 July 2016 12:35, UK
Defending champion Inbee Park has been forced to withdraw from the Women's British Open due to a thumb injury.
The world No 2, who claimed a three-shot victory at Turnberry last year to complete a career Grand Slam, hasn't featured competitively since missing the cut in her KPMG Women's PGA Championship defence last month.
Park has struggled with injury in recent months, being forced to pull out mid-tournament from both the LPGA Volvik Championship and the Kingsmill Championship, with the South Korean disappointed to be unable to feature at Woburn from July 28-31.
"This has been an incredibly hard decision for me to make and the reason I've left it to the very last minute," Park said in a statement. "Winning the British Open last year at Turnberry meant so much to me in more ways than you could imagine.
"Since the PGA I've been resting and rehabilitating my left thumb in the hope that I would be right to defend my title next week but it just needs a little bit more time.
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"Therefore, I will be unable to attend this year's British Open and now must concentrate on getting healthy and ready to compete for my country at the Olympic Games in Rio."
Park was a five-time champion in 2015 but has yet to reach the winner's circle this year, with his best showing so far coming when she finished runner-up at March's Kia Classic.
