Ko Jin-young (28) won the LPGA Tour Cognitive Founders Cup held at Upper Montclair Golf Course in Clifton, New Jersey, USA on the 15th (Korean time).
Ko Jin-young reduced her 5 strokes by catching only 5 birdies with no bogey in the final 4 rounds. She tied for the lead with Korean-Australian Lee Min-ji (27) with a total of 13 under par, and won after an extended game. It was her second win in two months following the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March. She has won 15 LPGA career victories.
Traditionally, Korean players showed a strong side in this tournament honoring the founders of the LPGA Tour. In the last 8 tournaments, Korean players have won 6 times. Ko Jin-young is the main character. After winning this competition twice in 2019 and 2021, it reached the top again this year and won three victories in this competition alone. Ko Jin-young also won the ‘Player of the Year’ in 2019 and 2021.
Ko Jin-young is the most successful player in this event and the only player who has won all of the courses in which this event was held. His winnings amounted to 450,000 dollars (about 600 million won), exceeding the career prize of 11 million dollars. It entered the top 20 in this category.메이저놀이터
Ko Jin-young
Ko Jin-young is not in a good condition these days. After playing for four straight weeks, she clearly looks tired. He said, “Usually, I arrive at the tournament two hours before the start of the game to prepare, but this week I came to the golf course an hour earlier, hit about 20 balls, and only did a few putts and chip shots. So he conserved his energy and then he put everything into the game,” he said.
Lee Min-ji, a Korean-Australian who is ranked 6th in the world, started the match with a 3-stroke lead. He was four strokes behind Ko Jin-young, so the possibility of a reversal seemed unlikely. However, Ko Jin-young led a tired body and caught 3 birdies to the 7th hole, chasing Min-ji by one stroke.
On the par 3 6th hole that crosses the water, Lee Min-ji made an unbecoming veteran mistake. The tee shot ball fell into the middle of the lake. The distance was shorter than 50 yards. Lee Min-ji put her third shot on the green, but this ball was also about 15m short. In the end, he allowed Ko Jin-young to reverse while doing a double bogey.
However, Lee Min-ji was formidable. With a birdie on the very next hole, he returned to the joint lead, and with birdies on holes 11, 12, and 15, he rose to the lead by two strokes. However, with a bogey on the 16th hole, the lead was reduced by one stroke.