Three LPGA events came off the calendar due to concern over the coronavirus outbreak, leaving players with an unexpected month off.
When Muni He triumphed at LPGA Q-Series last November, she seized control of something every professional golfer holds dear: her schedule. Being able to sign up for an event and not have to rely on the streaky nature of Monday qualifiers and the luck of the alternate list feels like a luxury for young players on the highest stage.
He, 20, decided early on that she’d skip the first three LPGA tournaments that she was eligible for and start 2020 on a three-week stretch in Asia, playing off of sponsor exemptions in limited-field events in Thailand and Singapore and the Blue Bay LPGA in her native China.
No one could’ve predicted that her first three starts would be canceled due to threats from the coronavirus. That control He worked so hard for went up in a puff of smoke. She’ll now make her first start of 2020 in late March at the LPGA event in Phoenix.
“I’m really trying hard not to stress,” He said by phone from London. Her original plans included a stop first in London to see friends. She decided to go ahead and make that trip and play Wentworth for a few days before heading back to Los Angeles to practice.
But not over-practice. Or overthink. It’s so difficult not to do both or either with so much unplanned time on the calendar.
Golfers live by the calendar. Natalie Gulbis used to literally schedule her sleep for the year, going to bed at 9 p.m. and rising at 5 a.m. Probably still does.
Danielle Kang said she was devastated to learn that her next three events had been canceled but agrees with the decision to put safety first. The Asian events are among her favorite on tour. Kang said she hasn’t had seven weeks off since high school.
“I honestly have no plans,” said Kang, who skipped the Australian swing. There’s now a four-week gap between tournaments on the LPGA schedule.
After having some time to let the news soak in, the World No. 5 started to view the unexpected break as a good thing. Kang didn’t have much of an offseason over the winter and found herself feeling tired at the first two events of the year in Florida. The idea of getting into a routine for a long period of time in Las Vegas started to sound appealing.
“I only have four weeks left!” said Kang, uttering an unheard phrase this time of year.
At the start of the week in Australia, Inbee Park was lamenting over the fact that she so often can’t buy groceries at home like a regular person because she’s not there long enough to eat them.
After collecting her 20th career LPGA victory at the ISPS Handa Australian Women’s Open, Inbee Park headed home to South Korea, where she can buy as much as she wants in the produce section with a month off. Park hadn’t originally planned to play in Phoenix, but that might change.
The top two players in the world, Jin Young Ko and Sung Hyun Park, have yet to hit a shot on the LPGA this season. Here’s a wild thought: There are now only two events remaining on the schedule before the first major of the year. Ko won the Founders Cup and ANA Inspiration in 2019.
Last year He, a former USC standout, put too much pressure on herself to get off to a fast start.
“Look at how that turned out for me,” she said.
He, who goes by “Lily,” now views the full season as she did Q-Series, one long marathon.
Born in Chengdu, China, He said she might have had trouble getting into Singapore anyway given that she travels on a Chinese passport. She was in China over the holidays to celebrate her grandfather’s birthday.
“The society isn’t really functioning at this point,” said He. “Thankfully, we left right before the whole thing broke out.”
The mysterious virus has infected more than 69,000 people, with the overwhelming majority of patients in China, where the outbreak originated.
He took off a month and a half after Q-Series, traveling to Abu Dhabi with Angel Yin for a Formula One race. Then she was off to Australia for the Presidents Cup to do media work for the PGA Tour. He, whose Instagram following is approaching 300,000, took a photo with her “idol” Tiger Woods at Royal Melbourne. Her father used to take her out to Shanghai every year to watch Woods compete in the HSBC event when she was a small child.
“I don’t get starstruck very often,” said He, “but I was starstruck in that moment.”
From there she was off to China for family time followed by New Year’s in Japan with friends. After battling through sickness for 10 days at home in California, she was back to work in January and quite pleased with her progress.
“Now with four more weeks on my hands,” she said, “I’m just trying to maintain.”
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