Ko Jin-Young, an undergraduate student at the Department of Sport Science, won the championship at the Jeju Samdasoo Masters, the 19th game of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) 2017 Tour, on August 13.
As the game began on August 11, Ko finished the first round, hitting five under par1, but she later scored two bogeys2 during the first-half holes of the second round. It was a critical score that made her rank middle-low in the game, however, from that point, the situation got even better. She made eight birdies3 in a row from the 11th to 18th holes, tying an KLPGA record. Consequently, she tied second place with Kim Hae-Rim at the end of day two by scoring six under par with eight birdies and two bogeys in the second round. Still holding her upturn until the last day, Ko won first place with ease, scoring a total of 17 under par by making six birdies without any bogey in the final round. It was her first championship of the season since winning the Hite Jinro Championship in October 2016.
Receiving the KLPGA grand prize last year, Ko was highly anticipated to become the queen of the KLPGA tour this year, but unfortunately she had suffered a bit of a slump, as well as a wrist and leg injury. In the 12th game of this season, she gained her first championship of the year, announcing her comeback and breaking the sequence of zero wins. Ko’s rank in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings also rose 8 places to 39th.
1) Finishing the hole with less strokes than par, the standard number of strokes
2) Finishing the hole with one more stroke than par
3) Finishing the hole with one less stroke than par