Ariya Jutanugarn’s comeback continues this week at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.
Jutanugarn, 18, was a rising young star in the women’s game before she tore a labrum in her right shoulder last summer tumbling off a steep slope on a tee box in a practice round at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. She is a big-hitting, major talent who might well be the third teenager in this week’s Rolex Women’s World Rankings if not for the injury. At the time she was hurt, she was No. 15 in the world, with $447,772 in LPGA earnings in just five starts via sponsor invites and Monday qualifying.
Jutanugarn played her way into the Lotte Championship through an LPGA qualifier Sunday in Hawaii. A Ladies European Tour pro, Jutanugarn is making just her fifth start since undergoing shoulder surgery last summer and missing seven months. She tied for fourth at the LET’s World Ladies Championship in China in her best start so far this year.