Park In-bee to warm up for Rio Games in Jeju

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean golfer Park In-bee will fine-tune her preparations for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games by competing in an event on home soil, her Seoul-based agency said Tuesday.

Galaxia SM said Park will enter a Korean LPGA (KLPGA) event on Jeju Island that starts on Aug. 5. The women's Olympic golf competition is set for Aug. 17-20.

"For Park In-bee, the Jeju Samdasoo Masters will be her warm-up event for the Rio Games," an official from Galaxia SM said. "She has started her swing practice and her injury is getting better."

Park has had an injury-plagued season. She missed some time early in the season with a back issue and has been troubled by a left thumb injury in recent weeks.

The former world No. 1 golfer hasn't played since the second week of June and had hinted at pulling out of Rio. However, the 28-year-old announced last week that she will compete at the Olympics.

The top 15 players on the world rankings as of July 11 qualified for the Olympics, with a maximum of four per nation. At No. 3 in the world, Park is the top-ranked South Korean. She will represent the country with Kim Sei-young, Amy Yang and Chun In-gee at the Rio Games.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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