'Number 2' Ko Jin-young vs 'Number 1' Korda "Clash of Pride"

Challenging Victory at Cognizant Founders Cup: Past Champions Including Park In-bee, Kim Se-young, and Kim Hyo-joo Compete

‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (right) and ‘Number 1’ Nelly Korda face off in a battle of pride at the Cognizant Founders Cup.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] It is a battle of pride.

This is the story of ‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (26) and ‘Number 1’ Nelly Korda (USA). The Cognizant Founders Cup (total prize money $3 million) of the LPGA Tour, held on the 7th (Korean time) at Mountain Ridge Golf Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey, USA (par 72, 6,656 yards), is the battleground. These two players have established a duopoly on the American stage. After taking a break since the major AIG Women’s Open in August, Korda returns to the regular tour after 7 weeks, setting up a ‘big match.’

Ko Jin-young is the player who won the KEB Hana Bank Championship in 2017 as a non-member and joined the LPGA Tour the following year. In 2018, she made a remarkable debut by winning the Australian Women’s Open, and in 2019, she swept 4 wins including 2 majors, dominating the money list, scoring average, Player of the Year, and the leaders’ ‘Top 10.’ Last year, due to COVID-19, she stayed in Korea but still showed her strength by winning the ‘money queen’ title after playing only 4 tournaments late in the season.

This year, she is cruising with 2 wins at the America Classic in July and the Portland Classic in September. However, in June, she lost the world No. 1 ranking she had held for 2 years to Korda, which was a blow to her pride. Recently, she has been on the rise with 4 top-10 finishes including 2 wins in the last 5 tournaments. She also tied for 2nd place at last week’s ShopRite Classic. Since the tournament was not held last year due to COVID-19, Ko Jin-young, the 2019 winner, is the defending champion.

She recalls the thrilling memory of beating Korda by one stroke at that time. While Korda was absent, Ko steadily accumulated points and narrowed the world ranking gap to 1.44 points. Korda is the strongest player who has dominated the LPGA Tour this year. She also won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last August. She is the only 3-win champion including the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She leads in wins, money list, Player of the Year, scoring average, and CME Globe Race. Having been away from the field for a long time, her game sense is a key factor.

Inbee Park is challenging for a victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup for the first time in three years since 2018.

Korea’s Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group), the 2018 champion, is eyeing her second win of the season. She is determined to wash away the disappointment of finishing as a joint runner-up at the ShopRite Classic. The army of past champions including 2015 champion Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) and 2016 champion Kim Sei-young (28, Mediheal) are participating. Minjee Lee (Australia), Brooke Henderson (Canada), and Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand) are also contenders for the title. ‘ShopRite champ’ C?line Boutier (France) is aiming for her second consecutive win.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.