'3-Win Champ' Ko Jin-young "Going for 2 Consecutive Wins and 200 Victories GO~"... Park Min-ji and Jang Ha-na Defend Home Turf

Domestic LPGA Tour BMW Ladies Championship Victory Clash, Park In-bee, Kim Se-young, Kim Hyo-joo and Other Stars 'All Out'

'3-time champion' Ko Jin-young challenges for her second consecutive win at the BMW Ladies Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ‘Achieving 2 consecutive wins and reaching 200 victories’.

This is the bold ambition of ‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (26). The fierce battleground is the BMW Ladies Championship (par 72, 6,726 yards) of the LPGA Tour held on the 21st at LPGA International Busan in Gijang-gun, Busan. If a Korean player wins, it will mark the 200th LPGA Tour victory since the late Ku Ok-hee’s triumph at the Standard Register in 1988. Due to COVID-19, last year’s event was canceled, so the defending champion is Jang Ha-na (29, BC Card), who won in 2019.

The probability of a Korean victory is higher than ever. Out of 84 players, 49 are Korean. Thirty of them are from the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour. The participation of foreign players has decreased more than usual due to COVID-19. The China and Taiwan tournaments were canceled, and the Japan tournament is held as a Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour exclusive event. Players who were supposed to come from the U.S. were reluctant to travel long distances for the ‘Asia Swing’ schedule, which now only includes the Korean tournament.

Ko Jin-young is aiming for her second consecutive win. She won the Cognizant Founders Cup on the 11th. This is her third win of the season and tenth overall, following the VOA Classic in July and the Cambia Portland Classic in September. She dominated the lead from the first day, achieving a ‘wire-to-wire’ victory. She is currently on a streak of 14 consecutive rounds scoring in the 60s, tying the record of golf legend Annika Sorenstam (Sweden). With no tournament last week, she has perfectly adjusted her condition domestically.

If Ko Jin-young wins, she can narrow or surpass the gap with ‘Number 1’ Nelly Korda (USA), who is not participating in this tournament, in various personal record categories. Korda ranks first in world ranking, scoring average, Player of the Year, and prize money, with Ko Jin-young in second place in all these categories. Korea will field top players such as Park In-bee (33, KB Financial Group), Kim Se-young (28, Mediheal), and Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte). Dark horses include Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Minjee Lee (Australia), and Danielle Kang (USA).

'Korea's No. 1' Park Min-ji aims to defend her home turf at the BMW Ladies Championship.

‘Domestic Number 1’ Park Min-ji (23, NH Investment & Securities) will defend her home turf. She leads the season with six wins, topping the charts in wins, prize money, and Player of the Year. Her shot form is excellent, as shown by her tie for third place at last week’s Dongbu Construction-Korea Land & Housing Trust Championship. Whether Jang Ha-na can achieve back-to-back victories is also a point of interest. She recalls the memory of defeating Danielle Kang in a playoff two years ago. Park Hyun-kyung (21, Korea Land & Housing Trust), Lee So-mi (22, SBI Savings Bank), and Choi Hye-jin (22, Lotte) dream of a ‘Cinderella story.’

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