Ko Jin-young Leads by 3 Shots "GO for 2 Consecutive Wins"... Korda Tied for 3rd, 4 Shots Behind

Cognizant Founders Cup Day 1: Exciting 8-Under, Gal in 2nd, Yoo So-yeon and Yang Hee-young Tied 3rd, Park In-bi Tied 39th

Ko Jin-young is teeing off at the 2nd hole on the first day of the Cognizant Founders Cup. West Caldwell, USA - Getty Images / Multibits Photo by Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (26) is on a march for her second consecutive victory.

On the 8th (Korean time), at the West Caldwell Mountain Ridge Golf Club (par 71, 6,656 yards) in New Jersey, USA, the first day of the LPGA Tour Cognizant Founders Cup (total prize money $3 million) ended with Ko Jin-young shooting 8-under par to dominate the top of the leaderboard. Sandra Gal (Germany) is in 2nd place (5-under par 66), and six players including ‘Number 1’ Nelly Korda (USA) are tied for 3rd place (4-under par 67). Due to bad weather followed by sunset, 30 players were unable to finish their rounds.

Since the tournament was not held last year due to COVID-19, 2019 champion Ko Jin-young is the defending champion. Ko Jin-young collected 9 birdies (1 bogey). She made consecutive birdies on holes 1 and 2, followed by a birdie on hole 5 (par 3), then took a brief breather with a bogey on hole 6 (par 4). In the back nine, she made two sets of three consecutive birdies on holes 10-12 and 14-16, showing remarkable performance. She recorded a fairway hit rate of 71% and a greens in regulation rate of 83%. Her putting count for the round was an outstanding 25.

Ko Jin-young entered the LPGA Tour in 2018 after winning the KEB Hana Bank Championship held in Korea in 2017 as a non-member. She made history by winning her debut event at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and won the Rookie of the Year award that year. In 2019, she won four times including two majors, sweeping the money list, scoring average, Player of the Year, and the leaders’ top 10. Despite playing only four events last year due to COVID-19, she still topped the money list.

This year, she has done her part by winning twice at the America Classic in July and the Portland Classic in September. She is the only Korean player with multiple championships this season. Although she failed to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics last August, she has shown a steep upward trend with four top-10 finishes including two wins in the last five tournaments. She also finished tied for 2nd at last week’s ShopRite Classic. In this tournament, she is leading by three strokes, aiming for her third win of the season and the 10th of her career.

Gal boasted a perfect play with five birdies and no bogeys. She is a veteran who won the 2011 Kia Classic. Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Korda recorded six birdies and two bogeys. After a seven-week break since the major AIG Women’s Open in August, she showed she has not lost her form. ‘US Women’s Open champion’ Yuka Saso (Philippines) and ‘LA Open champion’ Brooke Henderson (Canada) also joined the competition tied for 3rd place.

Korea’s Yoo So-yeon (31, Mediheal) and Yang Hee-young (32, Woori Financial Group) are tied for 3rd place. Six players including 2015 champion Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte), Jeon In-ji (27, KB Financial Group), Choi Woon-jung (31, Volvik), Kim A-rim (26, SBI Savings Bank), and Shin Ji-eun (29, Hanwha Q CELLS) are tied for 9th place (3-under par 68), looking for opportunities. 2018 champion Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group) and 2016 champion Kim Sei-young (28, Mediheal) are tied for 39th place (1-under par 70).

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