'Number 1' Ko Jin-young "8-over 80 including quintuple bogey"... "What happened on the 18th hole?"

Ko Jin-young is waiting for her tee shot turn on the 1st hole during the first day of the BMW Ladies Championship. Photo by BMW Korea

[Wonju (Gangwon) = Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No. 1 Ko Jin-young (27) suffered a blow to her pride.

On the 20th, Ko Jin-young collapsed with an 8-over-par 80 on the first day of the BMW Ladies Championship (total prize money $2 million), the only LPGA Tour event held in Korea, at Oak Valley Golf Club in Wonju, Gangwon Province (par 72, 6,647 yards). This is her worst score since her LPGA Tour debut in 2018. Ko Jin-young made only 3 birdies, 6 bogeys, and 1 quintuple bogey. She is tied for 76th place out of 78 players.

Defending champion Ko Jin-young deeply felt the six-week break due to a wrist injury. In the front nine, she made 3 birdies and 2 bogeys, reducing her score by 1 stroke. However, she began to falter in the back nine with four consecutive bogeys from holes 10 to 13. On the final 18th hole (par 5), she made a quintuple bogey, commonly called a ‘yangpa’ (onion).

Her tee shot hooked sharply to the left and flew into the out-of-bounds (OB) area, and her provisional ball went too far under the bushes. In a difficult situation to play normally, she hit the ball holding the club upside down, but it landed on the cart path. Ko Jin-young struggled through the rough and finally finished the hole with 10 strokes.

Last year, Ko Jin-young won the championship after a playoff against Lim Hee-jeong (22). She is the holder of the 100th LPGA Tour win by a Korean player. However, she showed her worst performance in her comeback after the injury.

"I came to the game with an excited heart, so maybe that's why the game didn't go well," Ko Jin-young said. "I'm upset, but I don't want to use my wrist as an excuse. I think I just didn't play well despite doing my best."

She added, "I think golf can be like that. Golf doesn't always go as you want. As a player, you have to accept the results no matter what happens after doing your best. I will think about how to play better and prepare for the remaining rounds."

While Ko Jin-young struggled, world No. 2 Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), who played alongside her, soared. She swept up 1 shot eagle and 7 birdies to dominate the top of the leaderboard (9-under-par 63). Leading by 1 stroke, she has a chance for her third win of the season.

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