Yoon Ina: Golfer banned for playing wrong ball returns this week

The onetime rookie star is returning to the course this week after officials cut short her three-year ban for playing the wrong ball during a tournament — and then continuing to compete for over a month before confessing her mistake.

Yoon Ina takes a tee shot on the fourth hole of the final round of the Ever Collagen Queens Crown at Lakewood CC in Yangju, Gyeonggi on July 17, 2022. [YONHAP]

Golfer Yoon Ina is returning to the course this week after officials cut short her three-year ban for playing the wrong ball during a tournament — and then continuing to compete for over a month before confessing her mistake.

Yoon, 21, will play as a pro in Korea for the first time since July 2022 when she tees off at this year’s KLPGA domestic opener, the Doosan E&C We've Championship, on Thursday in Jeju.

“As a golfer, I looked back at my mistakes in the past and took time to reflect and regret. I deeply considered and learned what responsibilities a pro should have,” Yoon said in a handwritten note posted to Instagram late last week. “I am trying to restart at the opening KLPGA tournament in Korea. As I’ve been given an opportunity to return a little early, I will repay all those who love golf by being a diligent and exemplary figure. Thank you.”

News of Yoon playing the wrong ball drummed up considerable media attention inside and outside of Korea. Her return to the KLPGA Tour marks the end of over a year and a half of drama, though she is sure to stay in the spotlight.

Here’s what you need to know.

Who is Yoon Ina?

Yoon is a professional golfer who, before her suspension, played on the KLPGA Tour, the highest level of women’s golf in Korea. She graduated from Jinju Foreign Language High School in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, and competed in national golf tournaments at the junior level.

She turned pro and joined the KLPGA in 2021 at 19 years old and played on the Dream Tour, a professional level below the KLPGA Tour, where she quickly moved up the rankings. She finished the season with two wins and eight top-10 finishes and was its top prize money winner despite joining the Tour months late.

She had a very memorable rookie season on the KLPGA Tour the following year even before her suspension, winning her first title in a wire-to-wire run at the Ever Collagen Queens Crown in July 2022, weeks after she played the wrong ball at the DB Group Korea Women's Open Golf Championship.

What happened with the ball at the 2022 Korea Women’s Open?

The four-day championship ran from June 16 to 19, 2022 at Rainbowhills in Eumseong, North Chungcheong.

Yoon had hit her 15th-hole tee shot to the right of the fairway during the first round, according to a statement she released through her agency on July 25.

People around her told her that a ball in the deep rough was hers, Yoon said in the statement.

She played the ball — and continued playing after realizing it was not hers, saying in the statement that she did not know what to do as she had never been in that situation.

Yoon played another full round the following day but finished at the bottom of the pack and failed to make the cut.

What happened after the tournament?

Yoon continued to play on the KLPGA Tour, finishing as runner-up at the Hankyung Ladies Cup the week after and in third place at the Mona Park Open with SBS Golf the week after that.

She played another tournament, the Daebo HausD Open, coming in tied 55th, before clinching her first championship with her Ever Collagen win on July 17.

Yoon Ina is being congratulated after winning the 2022 Ever Collagen Queens Crown at Lakewood CC in Yangju, Gyeonggi on July 17, 2022. [YONHAP]

It was on the first day of that tournament, July 14, that Yoon was first accused of playing the wrong ball at the Korea Women’s Open a month earlier, according to the July 25 statement.

A day later, Yoon voluntarily reported to the Korea Golf Association (KGA), the sport’s domestic governing body, that she had played the wrong ball.

The KGA on July 18 retroactively disqualified Yoon from the Korea Women’s Open.

She then played the three-day Hoban Seoul Shinmun Women’s Classic from July 22 to 24 and finished in tied 15th. That tournament would mark the end of her rookie year.

Yoon released a statement through her agency on July 25 detailing the situation and announced she would withdraw from the remainder of the 2022 KLPGA season.

When was she suspended?

The KLPGA announced on September 22 that Yoon would receive a three-year ban for violating Chapter 3 of Article 15 of the organization’s disciplinary rules, which says players will be suspended for lacking sportsmanship or disreputable behavior.

Yoon Ina answers reporters' questions at the Reward and Punishment Subcommittee meeting in Gangnam District, southern Seoul on September 20, 2022. [NEWS1]

Though Yoon voluntarily reported her mistake, the KLPGA Reward and Punishment Subcommittee said Yoon did not inform the KLPGA of the violation until long after it happened.

Why is she coming back now?

The KGA, which is separate from the KLPGA and the KPGA, reduced Yoon’s suspension to a year and a half in September last year. While the KLPGA originally upheld the three-year ban, it reversed its decision and cut Yoon’s suspension down to 18 months, ending it in March.

Yoon had also requested the KLPGA reduce her suspension.

Has Yoon been playing golf since her ban?

Yes. Outside of the KLPGA, Yoon competed in a slew of minor tournaments in the United States in 2023, donating much of her earnings. She finished in tied 11th at the 2024 Vic Open on the WPGA Tour of Australia in February, in a pool with Korea’s Shin Ji-yai and Cho Jeong-min, among others.

Yoon is set to tee off at the 2024 KLPGA opener in Jeju on Thursday.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]