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| Ko Jin-young tees off on the third hole during the final round of the 20th HITE JINRO Championship at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Ko won the KLPGA tour, bagging her 10th KLPGA win this year. Yonhap |
By Kim Jeong-kyoo
World No. 1 Ko Jin-young won the Hite Jinro Championship after a roller coaster final round of an even-par 72, Sunday. She shot a 3-under 285 overall at the 6,736 Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. A difficult course setup adversely affected the field, denying them low scores.
The 24-year-old had rounds of 71-71-71-72 to notch her 10th career title on the KLPGA Tour, earning 200 million in prize money.
The tournament looked like it was turning into a duel between Ko and Na over the opening stretch. The latter rattled off three birdies in a row to catch Ko at 3-under. Afterwards, the two continued to share the lead until Na bogeyed the ninth after pushing her tee shot into the rough behind pine trees.
At one point, four contestants shared the lead in the front nine and Ko once conceded her lead to Ji Han-sol when the latter birdied the sixth.
The back nine turned into a fierce free-for-all. No one could foresee the result until Ryu Hae-ran double-bogeyed the 17th hole.
Several contestants rose and fell while Ko played her game consistently. Ryu, Lee and Ji Han-sol who had threatened to overtake the champion faded away over the closing stretch.
Ko said in a televised interview, "I exerted my utmost to focus on my shots rather than paying attention to those rivals. I think I've got a good result as I did not try to show my mettle to tell why I'm world No. 1."
Entering the final round, Ko had a single stroke advantage over three runners-up: Kim Ha-neul, rookie Ryu Hae-ran and Ji at 2-under. Trailing behind the World No. 1 within three strokes was a batch of more than 10 competitors including KLPGA No. 1 Choi Hye-jin and Kim Ji-young2.
Tense pressure that prevailed on the field on Thursday never disappeared on Sunday. And many expected the final 18 holes to turn into a nip-and-tuck free-for-all.
Ko, ranked first in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings on Oct. 7, got off to a decent start with a train of three pars. She rattled off her first birdie of the day on the par-5 fourth to shake off Na to regain her sole lead. Na charged ahead to stand even with her with three birdies in a row on the second, third and fourth holes.
Ko found her standing level with Na when the latter birdied the seventh to catch her. However, she regained her sole lead, playing in the seventh fairway, when Na bogeyed the ninth.
Ko reached the turn at 4-under, a single stroke clear of her closest three rivals: Na, Ji Han-sol and rookie Ryu.
Then, Ko incurred a three-putt bogey on the 11th, conceding her lead to Ji Han-sol. She pulled her stroke coming back to miss the putt, dropping down into a two-way tie for second place. However, she found her in a three-way tie for the lead when playing partner Ryu double-bogeyed the 12th and rookie Lee birdied the 14th.
Ko became an upright leader with only the ultimate hole to play when Ryu committed a fatal blunder. Ryu stumbled, incurring a three-putt double-bogey from pretty short range on the 17th after escaping from the bunker in front of the green.
Ko capped the 72nd hole with an easy two-putt par to edge out four rivals by a single stroke. After a tap-in champion putt, she raised her hands high with a big grin on her face.
Choi Hye-jin and Kim Ji-young2 hit a one-under 71 to settle for second place with two others.
Rookie Lee rattled off a birdie on the 14th to edge ahead into a three-way tie for the lead with Ko and Ryu at 3-under. She stood still in the hunt for the crown when she birdied the 16th and climbed into a three-way tie for the lead. However, she took second place with a three-putt bogey on the 18th.
Na set out with three birdies in a row, charging ahead to share the lead with Ko early in the round. At one point, she took the sole lead with her fourth birdie of the day on the seventh. She made the turn at 3-under, a single stroke shy. With two birdies against a double-bogey, plus a bogey in the back nine, she ended in a tie for second.
