I thought of retirement from the confession of the unauthorized association, which detected banned drugs from shock and suspended them for six months. I haven't been in eight months
Aug 28, 2025
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The Heo In-hoe is back. The first round of his return was poor, but it was a meaningful day in itself to be back on the field after a hard time.
Heo In-hoe recorded three over par in the first round of the KPGA Tour Dong-A Membership Group Open held at 300 Country Club in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province on the 28th. He had two birdies, but he played over par with three bogeys and one double bogey.
This was Heo In-hoe's first appearance in the 2025 season. He was suspended for six months due to the issue of taking banned drugs. Last year, I took painkillers under a doctor's prescription for treatment purposes, but I took them for pain without knowing that the ingredients contained in them changed to a ban on consumption during the competition. In addition, a doping test detected a banned substance and forced him to be suspended for six months.
The following is a Q&A with Heo In-hoe, who finished the first round.
-How do you feel after the first round?
▶First of all, it's so nice to see you after a long time. It was good to see many players and officials who I haven't seen in a long time. Thank you to the fans who waited. As I couldn't make it to the competition, I will do my best to show good performance by working twice as hard in the remaining second half of the competition. Today's play doesn't seem to have a sense of the game yet. I didn't practice for about eight months. It certainly doesn't come up quickly. However, since golf can be done well in a day, I will try to achieve good results by raising my sense as soon as possible. The goal of this competition is to pass the preliminary round first.
-He said he didn't practice for 8 months?
▶It's a personal story, but just because you're suspended doesn't mean you shouldn't practice golf, but it was very hard at first. I feel like I've only been at home. When I go outside, people ask me a lot, and I think it was psychologically difficult. I thought this would not work, and after the suspension period, I started practicing before participating in the DP World Tour 'Danish Golf Championship'. At first, I didn't know I couldn't do this well.
-Have you ever not held a golf club this long?
▶I think there was a time when I didn't play golf for about a year when I turned professional after the national team was over. Even in his mid-20s, he participated in the tournament because of his bad back, but I think there was a time when he couldn't play golf properly for more than six months because he withdrew consecutively due to back pain. But this time, I didn't play golf at all. Actually, when I participated in the Danish Golf Championship, I went to renew my mindset to play well on the KPGA Tour, but I was shocked by the result. (Laughs)
-Was going to Denmark a good factor?
▶I think it was a good stimulus. I don't think I would have played better today if I hadn't. After coming back, I kept practicing. It wasn't that there was a problem with the shot today, but I just thought it wasn't going to work out overall, but it's a shame to watch the last hole double.
-How did you feel after the doping results came out?
▶It was in November last year that the ingredients were first detected and the documents had to be submitted, and it was a day before the first competition of the DP World Tour. I don't think I actually knew it was this serious at the time. Neither the doctor nor I thought it was an illegal drug because the documents were submitted well and drugs for treatment purposes could be taken after obtaining permission. The time when the final decision was made was when he posted it on social media.
-How do you feel about the suspension?
▶'Do I have to retire?' I thought. It was hopeless. I think I needed about three months to get through it. When it was too hard, I just thought about how I should retire and live in the future, but I don't directly contact the sponsor chairman, officials, and fans, but there were many people around me who supported me, and crucially, I think my family's power was the biggest. It was a difficult time, but if I think it's really good, I think it was good to spend time with my child and family during that time.
-What do you think was the problem because you got a big disciplinary action and this shouldn't happen in the future?
I thought that the sport of ▶ golf was taken lightly that it had nothing to do with doping, so I think each player should be a little more alert and pay attention.
-He played the first round of the first tournament in the second half of the year. What's your goal for the second half of the year?
▶I feel like I took a break from two to three years and participated again. I think I feel like I'm starting anew, and I think I felt a lot of pressure rather than nervous. I'm going to show some greed in the rest of the tournament. He couldn't come out of the competition in the first half of the year, and he seems to have to be greedy himself. I want to get the hang of it quickly and win at least two championships.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
