Jin-Young Ko Returns To Winning Ways Following Three-Month Break
Ko's victory at the HSBC Women's World Championship, means she has now claimed six LPGA Tour wins in only 10 starts
Going down the 72nd hole at Sentosa Golf Club, it seemed that the HSBC Women's World Championship was heading to a play-off, with the duo of Jeong-Eun Lee and Jin-Young Ko locked at 16-under-par.
Playing the last though, the World No.1 showed serious class, with a long-range birdie putt giving Ko her sixth win in 10 LPGA Tour starts! For Lee, it was quite the opposite, as the South Korean produced a chaotic double-bogey finish that dropped her down into a tie for fourth.
"I played well today, but it's tough to go round playing with two amazing Korean players. We're close friends," explained Ko. "I had a lot more confidence on the back nine than on the front nine, so I got a lot of birdies on the back nine."
Along with the six wins in 10 starts, her six-under-par round of 66 was also a record-breaking one, with it being her 15th consecutive round in the 60's and the 30th sub-par round in a row, a new LPGA Tour record.
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Beginning the final day, overnight leader, In-Gee Chun, started well, with a birdie at the second hole extending her early advantage. However, this was a field filled with class and, whilst the South Korean failed to capitalise on her fast start, the chasing pack caught up to her.
After closing out her front nine with back-to-back birdies, World No.1, Ko, would make a bogey at the 12th. That dropped shot though seemed to kick the South Korean into life, with four birdies in a row catapulting the 26-year-old into a share of the lead with Jeong-Eun Lee.
As the South Korean pair headed to the 18th, it was Lee who would endure a nightmare finish. Finding the bunker at the last with her second, she would over-hit her shot from the sand before taking a further three strokes to hole out for a double-bogey.
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The demise of Lee meant that Ko had two-putts for the title. However, as she stepped-up, she would only need one, rolling in her fifth birdie putt in six holes and giving herself a two-shot win over Minjee Lee and overnight leader, Chun.
Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.
Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.
Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?
Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°
Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°
Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°
Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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