SINGAPORE - A day after she pulled out of the HSBC Women's World Championship, defending champion Michelle Wie broke her silence when she poured her heart out in a lengthy Instagram and Twitter post on Friday (March 1) morning.
"I need a hug," wrote the 29-year-old as she confirmed she had been affected by a recurrence of the injury to her right wrist, which was taped up on Thursday as she attempted to play through the first round at the Sentosa Golf Club's New Tanjong Course.
However, after shooting 10-over through 14 holes, she withdrew on the 15th as she revealed she was "unable to lift the club" at that point.
Wie wrote: "Hi guys...feeling absolutely gut-wrenched right now.
"After getting surgery, I had it in my mind that I was going to be completely pain-free when I came back to Asia to defend my title. I was so ready to be pain-free that I ignored a couple of warning signs late last week.
"As a result of not listening to my body, I endured a bad flare up during my round yesterday. Started the day feeling alright, but I hit a shot on 8 that caused my hand to be in a really vulnerable position resulting in a bad flare up.
"After that shot, I felt a strong nerve irritation and it kept getting worse as I tried to play on. I would get sharp jabbing pains that just wouldn't go away. I made the decision on 15 to withdraw because at that point, I was unable to lift the club. Being in that amount of pain, I was scared that I could possibly do further damage.
"Deciding to withdraw during the tournament is always the hardest decision to make but it was heartbreaking to do so during the tournament I was there to defend."
Wie fractured her hand and sustained extensive neck injuries in a car accident two years ago. However, after surgery, she recovered to play in last week's LPGA Thailand tournament, where she finished tied for 23rd.
She did have some good news after a magnetic resonance imaging scan straight after the first round.
"Luckily the surgery site looks like it's healing great," she added.
"However, it looks like I'm dealing with some nerve entrapment due to tendon inflammation. The doctors put me on some strong anti-inflamms, nerve medication to calm down my irritated nerve, and put my hand in a brace to rest the tendons.
"Will keep an eye on it the next week and will re-evaluate where I'm at after that. Thank you all for your relentless support and patience throughout this process "
After the first round of the US$1.5 million (S$2.02 million) tournament, world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn topped the 63-golfer field alongside Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, China's Liu Yu, American Amy Olson and Australian Minjee Lee, who all shot a four-under 68.
