Ko Jin-young, Hunting for 2nd Win... "Did You See the Playoff Victory?" (Comprehensive)

Ko Jin-young Scores 5 Under Par in Cognizant Founders Cup FR
Birdie on 18th Hole Leads to Playoff... Back to 'Winning Par'
Lee Min-ji 2nd, Yoo Hae-ran 4th, Lydia Ko 42nd

It is a dramatic comeback victory for world No. 3 Ko Jin-young.

On the 14th (local time), Ko Jin-young fired a 5-under 67 in the final round of the LPGA Tour Cognizant Founders Cup (total prize money $3 million) held at Upper Montclair Country Club (par 72, 6,656 yards) in Clifton, New Jersey, USA. She tied with defending champion Minjee Lee (Australia) at 13-under 275, then secured the winning par on the first hole of the playoff at the 18th hole (par 4). This marks her second win of the season and 15th career victory, two months after the HSBC Women's World Championship in March, with a winner's prize of $450,000 (about 600 million KRW).

Ko Jin-young is cheering after securing a playoff victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup.
[Clifton, USA=Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

Among the nine LPGA Tour events held this season, Ko Jin-young is the only Korean winner, maintaining national pride. She especially enjoyed the joy of winning this tournament for the third time, following victories in 2019 and 2021. Korea has continued its dominance in this tournament with winners such as Kim Hyo-joo in 2015, Kim Se-young in 2016, and Park In-bee in 2018. In the last eight tournaments, Korean players have combined for an impressive six wins.

Starting from a tie for fourth place, four strokes behind, Ko Jin-young collected five birdies. She made consecutive birdies on the 3rd and 4th holes and added birdies on the 7th and 12th holes, sharing the lead with Minjee Lee (Australia). At the 17th hole (par 3), Ko saved par with a fantastic bunker shot, and then made a dramatic birdie on the final 18th hole to push the match into a playoff. In the playoff, Ko secured par with a '2-on 2-putt', while Minjee Lee suffered a heartbreaking bogey with a '2-on 3-putt'.

Ko Jin-young’s shot accuracy was off, missing the fairway and green six times each that day. However, she escaped trouble with a 100% bunker save rate and 27 putts. In her winner’s interview, Ko said, "I was inspired by Im Sung-jae’s comeback from five strokes behind to win yesterday in Korea," adding, "I’m even happier to win so dramatically." She continued, "The LPGA Tour is growing bigger and bigger," and promised, "I will take responsibility and show a good performance."

Ko Jin-young is posing with the trophy immediately after winning the Cognizant Founders Cup in a playoff.
[Clifton, USA=Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

Ko Jin-young is the dominant force on the LPGA Tour, having amassed 15 career wins including two majors. She won the Rookie of the Year award in 2018, became the first Korean player to win the money title three consecutive times (2019?2021), and earned Player of the Year honors twice (2019, 2021). After reigning over the LPGA Tour, Ko struggled with a wrist injury following the major Evian Championship in July last year but made a perfect comeback by successfully defending her title at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. This year, she has entered the top 10 five times in seven events, including two wins, signaling a second prime in her career.

World No. 6 Minjee Lee tasted defeat in her bid for a second consecutive title. Despite placing her ball closer to the pin in the playoff, her bogey was a painful mistake. Before this tournament, Lee’s best finish was a tie for 41st at the Chevron Championship, indicating a tough period, but her runner-up finish here marks a turning point. Ashley Buhai (South Africa) finished third (10-under 278), and Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) tied for fifth (7-under 281) with a strong performance. Meanwhile, world No. 2 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) lost five strokes and dropped to a tie for 42nd (3-over 291).

Korean rookie Yoo Hae-ran recorded three birdies and four bogeys, losing one stroke but achieving her best finish since debuting, tied for fourth (8-under 280). Yoo’s third top-10 finish of the season follows a tie for seventh at the Drive On Championship in March and a tie for sixth at the LA Championship last month. Choi Hye-jin tied for 13th (3-under 285), Kim Se-young and An Na-rin tied for 21st (1-under 287), Kim A-rim tied for 25th (even par 288), and Shin Ji-eun finished tied for 42nd. After a week off, the LPGA Tour continues on the 24th at the Bank of Hope Match Play (total prize money $1.5 million) at Shadow Creek (par 72, 6,804 yards) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

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