South Korea’s Jin Young Ko has credited compatriot Sung-Jae Im for inspiring her comeback victory in the LPGA Tour’s Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday.
Ko overcame a four-shot deficit to win the tournament for the third time in five years, edging defending champion Minjee Lee of Australia on the first playoff hole at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey.
The Korean immediately paid tribute to Im, who won a Korean Tour event on the same day after heading onto the final round five shots off the lead.
“This morning I watched some highlights of Sung-jae Im, who played in a Korean tournament this week and he won. He was five shots behind the lead and he made it to win, so that inspired me. I was four shots behind lead, but if I really played well like Sung-jae, I could have a chance to win, so I really focused,” said Ko, who has now won 15 times on the LPGA Tour
Ko also thanked the Korean fans who came out to support her in the US$3 million event that honours the 13 founders of the LPGA Tour.
“Lots of Koreans live here so there were a lot of them out there. They were always saying, you’re so pretty, you can do it,” noted the two-time Major winner.
Both Ko and Lee had finished regulation play tied on 13-under-par, with the Korean carding a closing 67 to the Australian’s 71 in windy conditions.
The momentum was with Ko as she had made a clutch 25-foot birdie on the final hole of normal play to force the playoff.
On the first extra hole, also played at the par-four 18th, both players hit the green with their second shots. Lee was about 15 feet away and closer than Ko, who had a winding putt from right to left.
After Ko coaxed her birdie attempt to tap-in range, Lee charged her birdie putt six feet past the hole and missed the par-saver.
The 27-year-old Ko pocketed a cheque for US$450,000 and passed the US$11 million mark in career earnings on the LPGA Tour, moving into the top-20 on the career money list. She joined Lilia Vu as the only players with multiple wins on the LPGA Tour this year.
Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa, who won the AIG Women’s Open last year, finished third on 10-under-par, two shots ahead of South Korean rookie Hae Ran Ryu. Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, Aditi Ashok of India and American Angel Yin shared fifth place on seven-under-par.
Lee, who started the final round with a three-shot lead over Yin and Ashok, remained positive despite the loss.
“Obviously I would’ve liked to have won, but looking back at my whole year and just kind of assessing where I am, I think there are a lot more positives than negatives. Obviously, I’m a little bit disappointed, but I think I can take more of the happy moments into the next stretch of events and the rest of the year,” said Lee, who was gunning for her ninth LPGA title.
Malaysian number one Kelly Tan had just missed the halfway cut by one shot after consecutive rounds of 73.
| Results (Top 10 and ties) | |||
| 275 | (-13) | Jin Young Ko (KOR) | 68-68-72-67 |
| Minjee Lee (AUS) | 68-69-67-71 | ||
| (Ko won on first playoff hole) | |||
| 278 | (-10) | Ashleigh Buhai (RSA) | 71-69-68-70 |
| 280 | (-8) | Hae Ran Ryu (KOR) | 67-70-70-73 |
| 281 | (-7) | Atthaya Thitikul (THA) | 68-73-69-71 |
| Aditi Ashok (IND) | 69-68-71-73 | ||
| Angel Yin (USA) | 69-70-68-74 | ||
| 282 | (-6) | Nasa Hataoka (JPN) | 68-71-71-72 |
| 283 | (-5) | Cheyenne Knight (USA) | 68-70-71-74 |
| 284 | (-4) | Madelene Sagstrom (SWE) | 71-69-75-69 |
| Georgia Hall (ENG) | 71-69-71-73 | ||
| Grace Kim (AUS) | 69-72-68-75 | ||
