The story appears on

Page A15

October 16, 2017

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Sports » Golf

1st LPGA Tour triumph for Ko

KO Jin-young held off the challenge of world No. 2 Park Sung-hyun and double major champion Chun In-gee to capture the LPGA’s KEB Hana Bank Championship title and earn herself a golden ticket to the lucrative US women’s tour.

Two shots clear overnight, Ko shot a 4-under-par 68 yesterday to finish on a combined 19-under, two strokes ahead of Park and three clear of Chun, her two Korean playing partners in a dream final grouping for tournament organizers.

Ko currently plays on the domestic Korean Tour but the quality of her play over four days at SKY72 Golf & Resort in Incheon, west of Seoul, suggests the 22-year-old will have no trouble adapting to life on the elite LPGA Tour if she chooses to accept the place her victory brings.

“This victory means so much to me,” Ko told reporters. “I was playing against exceptional players that rank much higher than me on the global ranking.

“I was quite flustered after I made those two bogeys on the front nine. Today I really realized once again that with golf you have to stick until the end to know.”

Park, who could have supplanted Ryu So-yeon as world No. 1 had she won the US$2-million tournament, picked up four strokes through 11 holes to storm into the lead as Ko started poorly, dropping shots at the second and third.

But Ko was flawless the rest of the way and a stretch of three consecutive birdies from the seventh put her back in the driving seat, and while she held her nerve over the closing nine it was Park who faltered, three-putt bogeys on 14 and 16 sealing her fate.

“Obviously Jin-young was outstanding today,” said Park, who looks certain to win the LPGA Rookie of the Year award and leads the official money standings.

Becoming world No. 1 is still very much a possibility for the 24-year-old, who left Korea to join the US Tour at the end of last season and bagged her first major at the US Women’s Open in July.

“I think that’s the type of goal you continue to work hard to reach,” she said. “There are events left, so I’ll just give it my best shot.”

Chun carded a final-round 69.

Ryu finished with a 70 to end tied for eighth on 10-under, alongside defending champion Carlota Ciganda (72), Brooke Henderson (72) and Angel Yin (73).




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend