Earlier this month, Danielle Kang had a smiling moment after qualifying for the 2025 Blue Bay LPGA. But overall, the golfer is dealing with a difficult time on the greens. This season alone, the golf star missed cuts in two of her four starts. Which ones? The Founders Cup will be at the start of the season, and the Ford Championship will be ongoing. Unfortunately, for her, this isn’t a new occurrence. She had it bad last year as well with 9 missed cuts and 0 top-10 finishes.

Undoubtedly, her off form is weighing heavy on her. Despite this, having witnessed Lydia Ko‘s win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, she shared a supportive message for a close, fellow LPGA star. How did she do that?

Danielle Kang posted a picture with Lydia Ko with the following caption: “Couldn’t be more proud of my baby sis ❤️ @ lydsko.” However, this wasn’t the only thing she shared regarding that event. In another story, she took a dig at her own performance all the while requesting privacy: “most encouraging things 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? 😘. thank you @ hsbcwomensgolf for this opportunity. Sorry for playing so bad.” This came after her T62 finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.

Since then, fans have been worried. She seemed to do well until she didn’t. As mentioned earlier, Danielle Kang missed the cut at the Ford Championship. The fans were worried that they’d see Kang taking another guilt trip. Fortunately, via her latest Instagram post, that does not seem to be the case. Kang took to Instagram to update her fans about herself and shared her pictures on the greens with the caption: “update: light is subtle but visible now at the end of this tunnel.”

And this isn’t the first time she has taken a strong stance against the heat. Back in 2024, at the T-Mobile Match Play, the golfer slammed any negative outcry against her performance. She reminded the fans that it is not easy to be consistent and that sometimes “You play good, you play bad, you play bad, you play good. You play great, you win and then you lose.” We cannot help but hope she remembers this! However, Danielle Kang‘s mixed relationship with sport is age-old. Let’s take a brief look at it.

Danielle Kang’s love-hate relationship with golf

It was in 2021 when Danielle Kang sat down for an exclusive with Golf Digest. Then, Kang revealed what’s really going on with her and golf. Talking about her run on the game and her feelings for golf itself, she said, “I didn’t love golf; I was just really good at it. My older brother, Alex, played, and I wanted to hang out with him, and the easiest way to do that was by practicing with him. What I liked was winning.” But, Kang soon realized that was also the trouble with the sport. If you don’t win, you feel underwhelmed. But, it has also to do with golf demanding too much out of her, something that Kang has often talked about. And it makes sense. Why?

She expressed it quite bluntly, saying how golf has turned out to be a prime focus, leaving other aspects of life behind. But Kang does acknowledge the pivotal role of the sport in her life saying, “I get to do something so cool: play golf for a living.”

Well, Kang began playing golf at 12, quickly qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open and winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2010 and 2011 before turning pro. If you start that early, you are sure to miss out on more than one moment. Kang felt angry at having missed out on many important life events like friendships and family time. Her mother suggested a break. Kang followed this advice but returned soon enough. She loves playing and winning, remember? She reinforced this statement again in 2021. Back then, the golfer admitted her interest in the sport.

After dealing with a tumor on her spine in 2022, Danielle Kang took time off from the greens. As a result, heading into the 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open, she knew she wasn’t up to the mark. Despite that, she said she understood why people loved the game. “I’m starting to learn why so many people love golf. It’s really hard to play this bad, and yet I still love it.”

The 2025 season is still here, and so are the LPGA events. Will we get to see her fall in love with golf once again? That remains to be seen! But good luck to Danielle Kang, nonetheless!