Lydia Ko and this American golfer share an enduring friendship. Their bond took root more than a decade ago at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, where a wide-eyed Ko met the reigning champ, Danielle Kang, whom she’d long admired from a distance. What started as a spark of admiration quickly turned into a sisterhood that’s weathered the ups, downs, and rivalries of tour life ever since.

But, over the years, Danielle Kang’s LPGA career since 2022 has been a struggle is a bit of an understatement. The American golfer, who has six PGA Tour victories to her name, has been underwhelming on the golf course since having to undergo surgery for a tumor on her spine in June 2022. She came back the same season after recovering from the medical procedure, but unfortunately, she has never been the same.

Her game started showing a downward trend, culminating in a below-par start to the 2025 LPGA Tour season. The American golfer had only made two cuts in the six events she participated in. In light of struggles both professionally and physically, Kang decided to opt out of the Chevron Championship to take a more focused approach to the Circuit.

With that in mind, the six-time LPGA Tour winner took part in the Black Desert Championship in Utah. Her first round was not great, carding a 2-over-par at the Black Desert Golf Course. As fans were expecting to fight hard to remain in contention with a strong performance on day 2, Kang dropped the bombshell news. She withdrew from the second round of the tournament due to illness. There is no concept of catching a break in her scenario.

Kang had previously missed the cut at the JM Eagle LA Championship and also failed to qualify from her group in the T-Mobile Match Play event. Her only decent result came at the Blue Bay LPGA, where she finished T68 despite shooting a woeful score of 10 over par. Kang has been struggling and has addressed the issue multiple times publicly.

After her T62 finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Kang had stated, “Most encouraging thing people can say to me right now is saying absolutely nothing. Trust me. I’m doing everything. Just let me figure out how to break 80 on my own with the people I trust, ok?”  The frustration Kang has is justifiable, and the recent withdrawal from the competition in Utah is likely to increase the pressure on her shoulders brought on by expectation.

But she is not without support, though. There are people in the PPGA who have lent her a warm hand in support.

LPGA Pros support Danielle Kang

Lydia Ko, the ‘baby sis’ of Danielle Kang, caddied for the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner for the US Women’s Open qualifying. She had qualified every year since 2009, but failed to meet the score threshold. Finally victorious, Kang also received a thoughtful gift from the New Zealand golfer during her time at Utah.

She shared a photo of the gift on her Instagram story with the note that said, “When your baby sis knows everything and says she’s proud of my latest accomplishments, says it’s time to celebrate. ily @lydsko.” Ko had reposted the story. Even Angel Yin joined in. She brought a cake to Kang to celebrate her first made cut of the year at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. Kang had posted a story with the note, “When your sis gets you the ‘congrats you finally made the cut’ cake.”

A consistent wave of support is riding behind Danielle Kang. Can she use that as a motivational push and clinch her first title in nearly 3 years? We will have to wait and see.