Rhode Island. The 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur. That’s where Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang first met, and they became inseparable ever since. They call themselves ‘Sisters from another Mister’, which was also their team name, and after their initial meeting a decade ago, they played together in the LPGA’s Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Michigan, in 2021. “Having a sister next to me, best friend, somebody I can rely on, it’s so much more fun to win together and play together,” Kang had stated, and in 2023, they again paired for the NWA Championship. But since 2022, Kang’s LPGA career has been a struggle.

The American golfer, who has six LPGA 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 she has never been the same. “There’s been so much in my life that I didn’t want to deal with… whether it’s sickness to family to losing family members, and now this?… Because it was just battle after battle, but it’s not something I can’t overcome,” she shared last year, explaining how losing her dad (who was her caddy) to cancer and her own diagnosis affected her mentally.

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, and as fans were expecting her 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.

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 expectations.

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

Lydia Ko shows her support for Danielle Kang!

Lydia Ko, the ‘baby sis’ of Danielle Kang, caddied for Kang during the US Women’s Open qualifying last month. So Ko traveled from Texas to San Francisco to help out Kang. Kang had qualified every year since 2009 for the U.S. Women’s Open, but failed to meet the score threshold. Finally victorious, she 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 three years? We will have to wait and see. However, she has come far in her personal journey. After getting her surgery done, there were times during her recovery when she could not move. And so when she started practicing golf once again, she was able to hit only a couple of shots.

It will be interesting to watch her play ahead. What do you think?