Former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko returns to competition at the Honda LPGA Thailand. The last time the South Korean star teed it up on the LPGA at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, she was wearing a brace on her left knee. Ko eventually withdrew from the event prior to the third round.
Ko insists that’s now behind her and said doctors checked her entire body – knees, shoulders, wrists, spine – and reported that she’s healthy for 2024. She flew to Vietnam during the extended offseason to train with her coach and feels confident going into her 10th season as a professional, including time spent on the KLPGA.
Her goal this year: Stay healthy and keep her energy up throughout the season.
“Usually my season is like first five months was really nice and then my energy getting lower,” she said. “I want to be consistent with my energy, performance, everything. … Hard practice and after the practice, let it be, let it go.”
World No. 1 Lilia Vu headlines the Honda Thailand field. Last year Vu broke through with her first LPGA title in Thailand, and then went on to win three more times, including two majors.
While her first two events of 2024 were lackluster at best, Vu went home to California during the three-week break to work on her ball striking.
“I think that was a bit of a wakeup call for me,” said Vu of the shaky start, “but definitely needed to happen.”
Lydia Ko, who won the season-opening event and lost in a playoff to Nelly Korda the next week, will return to action next week in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. Korda, meanwhile, is in the midst of a seven-week break and returns at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship next month.
Ko isn’t the only player making her 2024 season debut. Here are several other notable players (with Rolex Ranking) starting their first LPGA start in Thailand: