It is a dramatic come-from-behind victory by Ko Jin-young, who is ranked 3rd in the world.
Jinyoung Ko won the final 4th round of the LPGA Tour Cognitive Founders Cup (total prize money of $3 million), which ended at the Upper Montclair Country Club (par 72, 6656 yards) in Clifton, New Jersey, on the 14th (local time). After hitting a 5-under-par 67 strokes at the 18th hole (par 4) after making a tie with defending champion Lee Min-ji (Australia) (13 under par 275 strokes), he caught a “winning par” in the first hole of the extended extension on the 18th hole (par 4). It is the second win of the season and the 15th overall in two months since the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March, and the winning prize is $450,000 (approximately 600 million won).
Ko Jin-young is cheering after winning the extension at the Cognizant Founders Cup. [Clifton (USA) = AFP Yonhap News]
Jin-Young Ko maintained her pride as the only Korean player to win among nine LPGA tour events this season. In particular, I enjoyed the joy of harvesting the third win in this competition following 2019 and 2021. Korea continued its super strength in this competition, with Kim Hyo-joo winning in 2015, Kim Se-young in 2016, and Park In-bi winning in 2018. It’s a whopping 6 wins in the last 8 tournaments.
Ko Jin-young started from a tie for 4th place by 4 strokes and swept 5 birdies. He tied for the lead with Lee Min-ji (Australia) by catching birdies on holes 3 and 4 in a row and birdies on holes 7 and 12. Ko Jin-young saved the number of bats with a fantastic bunker shot on the 17th hole (par 3), and made a dramatic birdie on the last hole 18, leading the game to an extension. Ko Jin-young caught the par with ‘2 on 2 putts’ in overtime, but Lee Min-ji shed tears with ‘2 on 3 putts’.
On this day, Ko Jin-young’s shot accuracy was so low that he missed the fairway and green six times. However, he got out of the crisis with a 100% bunker save rate and 27 putts. In his winning interview, Ko Jin-young cheered, saying, “I was stimulated to see Seong-jae Lim overturn a 5-stroke win in Korea yesterday,” and “I am more than happy to win dramatically.” He continued, “The scale of the LPGA tour is getting bigger and bigger,” and “I will show a good figure with a sense of responsibility.”
Jinyoung Ko poses with the trophy right after winning overtime at the Cognizant Founders Cup. [Clifton (USA) = AFP/Yonhap News]
Koh Jin-young is the strongest player on the LPGA tour with a total of 15 wins, including two major wins. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2018, the first Korean player to win the prize money king three times in a row (2019-2021), and the Player of the Year Award twice (2019, 2021). Ko Jin-young, who dominated the LPGA tour, struggled with a wrist injury after the major Evian Championship last July, but made a perfect comeback by winning two consecutive victories at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. He announced his second heyday by entering the ‘Top 10’ five times, including two wins in seven competitions this year.
Lee Min-ji, who is ranked 6th in the world, suffered a loss ahead of her second consecutive victory. In overtime, it was painful to commit a bogey even though it was closer to the pin than Ko Jin-young. Lee Min-ji had suffered so much that her best result was a tie for 41st in the Chevron Championship before this tournament, but she made an opportunity to escape from sluggishness with a runner-up today. Ashley Buhai (South Africa) placed 3rd (10 under par, 278 strokes), and Ataya Titikun (Thailand) tied for 5th place (7 under par, 281 strokes). On the other hand, world No. 2 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) lost 5 strokes and fell to 42nd place (3 over par 291 strokes).카지노사이트
In Korea, rookie Yoo Hae-ran made 3 birdies and 4 bogeys. He forgot one stroke, but finished 4th (8 under par 280 strokes), his best since his debut. Yoo Hae-ran is the third ‘Top 10’ of the season following a tie for 7th at the Drive-On Championship in March and a tie for 6th at the LA Championship last month. Choi Hye-jin tied for 13th place (3 under par 285 strokes), Kim Se-young and Annarin tied for 21st place (1 under par 287 strokes), Kim A-rim tied for 25th place (even par 288 strokes), and Shin Ji-eun tied for 42nd. After taking a break for a week, the LPGA Tour continues on the 24th with the Bank of Hope match play (total prize money of 1.5 million dollars) at Shadow Creek (par 72, 6804 yards) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.