'Number 2' Ko Jin-young "Season Title Defense GO"... Who Will Be the Owner of the Individual Title?

In the 2021 Season Finale CME Group Tour Championship, 'Number 1' Koda Competes for Multiple Titles, Lydia Ko Likely to Win Lowest Score Award

'Number 2' Ko Jin-young challenges for multiple titles with a consecutive win at the 2021 season finale CME Group Tour Championship.

[Asia Economy Reporter Noo Rae] "Title defense and multiple crowns."

This is the declaration of world No. 2 Ko Jin-young (26). The final event of the 2021 LPGA Tour season, the CME Group Tour Championship (total prize money $5 million), will be held on the night of the 18th (Korean time) at Tiburon Golf Club (par 72, 6,556 yards) in Naples, Florida, USA. She is determined to "achieve a second consecutive victory and sweep individual titles such as prize money and Player of the Year." Sixty players will compete without a cut to determine the winner.

Ko Jin-young is the strongest player dominating the world women's golf scene. Since her debut in 2018, she has won 11 titles including 2 majors. She held the No. 1 spot for nearly two years from July 2019 until last June. Especially, from the America Classic in July to the Portland Classic in September, and the Founders Cup and BMW Ladies in October, she demonstrated her strength by winning 4 titles. In the recent 8 tournaments, she has entered the top 10 six times, including 4 wins, showing an impressive streak.

Ko Jin-young ranks first in the CME Globe Race (3,520 points) and second in the world ranking, prize money ($2,002,161), and Player of the Year (181 points). Nelly Korda achieved her fourth win of the season last week at the Pelican Women's Championship after a playoff, rising to first place in both prize money ($2,237,157) and Player of the Year (191 points). The gap is not large?$235,000 in prize money and only 10 points in Player of the Year. A comeback is possible with a victory in this tournament.

The winner's prize money is $1.5 million. The winner receives 30 Player of the Year points, and the runner-up gets 12 points. If Ko Jin-young wins, she will secure the prize money and Player of the Year titles on her own. There is also a possibility of reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking by surpassing Korda. This is the "promised land" where she won by 5 strokes last year. She said, "I became Player of the Year two years ago, but I would like to do it again," and expressed her determination to "continue the good momentum recently."

'Number 1' Nelly Korda aims for her 5th win of the season at the final event of the 2021 season, the CME Group Tour Championship.

Although Korda ranks first in scoring average and Ko Jin-young is second, Lydia Ko (New Zealand), who is fourth, is likely to win the award as they do not meet the minimum rounds (70 rounds). Korda showed a fierce momentum with 3 wins until June and a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August. Since then, she has rested to adjust her condition and is aiming for a spectacular finale. She said, "Now I will focus all my attention on the final event." Kim Sei-young (28, Mediheal) aims to avenge her runner-up finish last week.

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