Ko Jin-young holding the championship cup. yunhap news
Ko Jin-young hit a 3 under par 69 with 4 birdies and 1 bogey in the 4th round on the final day of the tournament held at the Tanjong Course (par 72, 6,749 yards) at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on the 5th.
With a final total of 17 under par and 271 strokes, Ko Jin-young beat runner-up Nellie Koda (USA) by two strokes and succeeded in “defending the title” in this tournament.
Ko Jin-young climbed to the top of the LPGA Tour event again in a year after this tournament last year and earned 14 wins on the tour.
It is a meaningful win for Ko Jin-young, who struggled with a wrist injury in the second half after winning this tournament last year.
Ko Jin-young’s flow dropped sharply after a tie for 8th at the Evian Championship, a major tournament in July of last year.
Due to wrist pain, he has been sluggish in six tournaments since the Evian Championship, missing the cut three times and withdrawing once.
The world ranking, which was number one, has now been pushed down to number five.
In addition, Korean players have not won the LPGA Tour since Jeon In-ji (29) at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June of last year.
This win is the first win in a year for Ko Jin-young as an individual, but it has become a victory for Korean players as well, breaking the chain of ‘no wins’ in 18 consecutive tournaments since Jeon In-ji.
Ko Jin-young could not hide his joy to the extent that his eyes were already moist as he headed to the green on the 18th hole (par 4), ahead by three shots, and after winning the championship, he burst into tears he had endured.
In an interview with the LPGA Tour after confirming the championship, he said, “I won this tournament last year and was confident that I would be able to win more, but I didn’t.” You have to work really hard to win,” he said.
He added, “If it took a long time, it took a long time to win, but it seems that the two stages have grown during that period.”
When asked about the meaning of the tears shed after winning the championship, Ko Jin-young replied, “I had a lot of thoughts, and it felt similar to the tears I shed during my first championship after debuting as a pro.”
As the decisive moment, he pointed to the 13th hole (par 5), where he regained a three-stroke lead.
“My tee shot went slightly to the left, but my stance was bad,” he said.
“I thought I would be able to win because I practiced harder than anyone else, and because I shed sweat and tears,” Ko Jin-young said, “It seems to be the most important win out of 14 wins in the LPGA.”
After finishing last season, Ko Jin-young received winter training in Vietnam again under the guidance of coach Lee Si-woo, who had broken up twice.
Ko Jin-young, who received guidance from coach Lee Si-woo when he won two majors in 2019 and in the second half of 2021, when he was ranked first in the world, joined hands with Lee again at the end of last year.
Ko Jin-young said, “There are major championships, but I was able to win this championship because I had time to grow last year, and I learned how to do more for the rest of the season, and this tournament is the tournament that healed my heart the most.” “he was delighted.
In this competition, established in 2008, Ko Jin-young is the first to win two consecutive years, and Ko Jin-young is the second to win two times in total, following Park In-bi (35) in 2015 and 2017.
For Jinyoung Ko, this is her third title defense on the LPGA Tour after the Founders Cup in 2019 and 2021 and the CME Group Tour Championship in 2020 and 2021.
The Founders Cup was not held in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
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