SINGAPORE — Defending champion Michelle Wie has been forced to withdraw from the HSBC Women’s World Championship with a recurrence of a right hand injury.
Wie, making her second start of the season after surgery on her right hand earlier this month, was 10-over after 14 holes on Thursday when she withdrew while playing the 15th. She was holding her right wrist and hand as she walked up the fairway.
Wie fractured her hand and sustained extensive neck injuries in a car accident two years ago.
She had back-to back 7s on the eighth and ninth holes, the first for double-bogey and the second for a triple.
The 29-year-old Wie played in last week’s LPGA Thailand tournament, in which she finished tied for 23rd.
The 63-player field at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course has no cut. The top 12 players in the world were in the final four groups Thursday.
Amy Yang, who won last week in Thailand, withdrew with an undisclosed illness after three holes Thursday. She parred her first hole but then went bogey, double-bogey before deciding to quit.