Lydia Ko (New Zealand) has made a splendid comeback.
Lydia Ko shot a 2-under 70 in the final round of the Hilton Grand Bacations Tournament of Champions (total prize money of $1.5 million) at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club (par 72) in Orlando, Florida on the 22nd (Korea time), winning the title with a total of 14-under 274 in the fourth round.
Ko, who beat Alexa Pano of the U.S. by two strokes, won her first LPGA title and 20th LPGA Tour title. The prize money for the championship is 225,000 U.S. dollars.
This made her the 15th player to win more than 20 games on the LPGA Tour.
He also added one more point needed to join the Hall of Fame, leaving only one point.
One general championship, two major championships, and one Hall of Fame point for Bear Trophy (the season’s lowest at-bats award), Player of the Year, and Olympic gold medal will be inducted into the Hall of Fame if 27 points are collected.
Ko collected 26 points from the victory.
“I’m really close to the Hall of Fame. I’m standing right in front of my door,” Ko said, vowing to make a final spurt for the Hall of Fame. “I want to do everything I can. If I don’t do that, it won’t be mine.”
It was her 20th victory, but it was very meaningful for Ko.
This is because, with his first win in a year and two months after winning the CME Group Tour Championship in November 2022, he cleared off the terrible slump he suffered last year and laid the foundation for him to play again for the best position in the world.
Ko, who swept the 2022 prize money king and the player of the year, suffered the worst slump last year.
Far from winning 20 competitions, he only won the top 10 twice, and received a humble report card of 90th in prize money, 100th in CME Globe Points, and 61th in average at-bats.
The world ranking, which used to be No. 1, fell to No. 12.
The first year of Lydia Ko’s new marriage, which was held in December 2022, was a nightmare.
However, since finishing the season early last year, Ko has worked with coach Lee Si-woo, who teaches Ko Jin-young, to prepare for her comeback this season, and successfully announced her revival from the opening game.
Before the opening of the event, Ko expressed her confidence by claiming that she aimed to win the gold medal and the Hall of Fame at the Paris Olympics this year, but she overwhelmed her competitors with her smart and sophisticated short games as well as her heyday.
Although her shots were not very good in the first round, Ko, who shot three under par, took the lead by reducing seven shots without bogey in the second round and four more shots in the third round to take the lead alone.
Ko’s shot in the final round, which started with a two-stroke lead, was not satisfactorily outstanding.
The tee shot off the fourth fairway wasn’t bad, but he missed the green six times.
However, he made up for it with ghostly short games and putts, rather taking birdies whenever he had the opportunity.
Ko, who made birdies on the day at the sixth hole (par 3), kept her lead by making consecutive birdies on the ninth and 10th holes (par 4), and lost one shot at the 11th hole (par 5), but was four strokes ahead of the second-ranked group.
In the 15th hole (par 5), Ko sent her tee shot to the right rough of the cart road and her second shot to the penalty area on the left side of the green, but she birdied with an exquisite wedge shot inside the penalty area to effectively win the title.
On the 18th hole (par 4), he came to the green three times and lost one shot, but it was no obstacle to winning. 마카오카지노주소
Lydia Ko, a member of the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club where the competition took place, said, “I’m happy that it’s a result of my hard preparation over the past two weeks, and it’s even better to have the support of the members at home. It’s definitely great to have a better chance with this victory, but I don’t change my idea of focusing on the game and watching the results without being swayed.”
Pano, who played with Lydia Ko in the championship group, belatedly chased after her with birdies on the 16th (par 4) and 17th (par 3) consecutive holes, but had to settle for second place (12 under 276).
Brooke Henderson (Canada), the winner of last year’s championship who saved four pars including birdies for three consecutive years, saved face by ranking third (10-under 278).
Yoo Hae-ran shot a 2-under 70 to tie for 12th (4-under 284).
Yang Hee-young, who lost three strokes, tied for 22nd place (1 over par 289), while Jeon In-ji shot a 2-over par 74 to fall to a tie for 30th place (7 under par 295).
New York Mets infielder Jaff McNeil won the honor with 138 points in the major league baseball league in the celebrity category, which was determined by a modified Stableford method. McNeil played in the tournament for the first time.
Annika Sorenstam of Sweden finished second with 136 points.