Reasons to look forward to Ko Jin-young’s ‘Hot June’

Ko Jin-young, who made her debut on the LPGA Tour in 2018, has become a golfer who has won 15 victories on the tour by lifting the championship trophy every season. Among them, there were also two seasons that showed strong performances, such as 4 wins in 2019 and 5 wins in 2021. Thanks to her two seasons, Jinyoung Ko set various records on the LPGA Tour, and she was ranked number one in the women’s golf world for a total of 145 weeks. At a time when Ko Jin-young was at her best, she had no player to match.

And in the 2023 season, Ko Jin-young is poised to show her best season once again. She struggled with her performance following a wrist injury in the second half of last year, but she bounced back earlier this year. In March she achieved her second straight win at the HSBC Women’s World Championships, then this month she took her second win of the season as she succeeded in winning her first three of these events at the Cognitive Founders Cup. In addition to her wins, she is one or two among the individual title leaders, including Race to CME Globes season (1366.973 points) and stroke average (69.107), thanks to five out of seven events or top 10 finishes on the LPGA Tour this season. raised I also found her confidence. She was particularly happy when she won the Founders Cup in a come-from-behind tie against Korean-Australian Minji Lee in extra time. She seemed psychologically relieved of her weight.

Jinyoung Ko smiles brightly after winning the Cognizant Founders Cup in overtime. She was different from the way she shed tears at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. [Photo by Gettyimages]

Statistics prove Ko Jin-young’s resurrection. Ko Jin-young is a golfer characterized by a solid swing. In the 2019 season, when he achieved 4 wins in one season, the average green hit rate reached 79.56%. Ko Jin-young, who did that, fell to 71.52% last year. After refining his swing all season, he showed off the ‘computer shot’ again. He has an average green hit rate of 75.4% this season and is in second place overall. Most indicators improved from last year, such as the average driver shot distance of 260.58 yards (249.28 yards last year), the average number of putts of 29.21 (29.78 last year), and the sand save rate of 50% (48.28% last year).

Jinyoung Ko when she won the HSBC Women’s World Championship last March. Immediately after winning this championship in a year, Ko Jin-young said, “This is the most meaningful win to me.” [Photo by Gettyimages]

Jinyoung Ko is a golfer who focuses more on the situation at the moment and the environment he encounters as much as setting specific goals for the season. Ahead of his season this year, his own goal he set drew attention. He talked a lot about his swing ahead of the Honda LPGA Thailand, his first event of the individual season in February. He said, “The goal is to get a sense of the swing as soon as possible. Ultimately, he will aim for the championship, but the important thing is to come out with a swing pattern. If that happens, the results will follow.” Unusually proud of his shot, he spent the early season focusing more on swinging than winning. The result was a good performance, and furthermore, it was connected to the winning performance. After winning the Founders Cup, Ko Jin-young said, “My goal this year is to keep my swing, which was shaken a lot last year, solid. I am still trying to do that,” he said.

If Ko Jin-young shows this season’s goal of ‘consistent swing’ throughout the season, it is highly likely that he will have an intense season comparable to 2019 and 2021. 안전놀이터

Ko Jin-young, who became the first player to win the most on the LPGA tour this season, continues her good momentum toward the middle of the season. The LPGA Tour, which only holds two events in May, has a schedule for all four consecutive weeks in June. In particular, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which will be held at the end of June, is the second major tournament of the season, so Jin-young Ko’s strong performances are worth expecting. As she emphasizes consistent play throughout the season and puts it into practice, attention is focusing on what kind of performance Jin-young Ko will achieve in June, when she will be more sensible. As of now, we look forward to seeing her strong performance in June, reminiscent of her previous victories in 2019 and 2021.

◆ ‘Kim Ji-han’s Golf Discourse’ is intended to tell various stories of golf with all the meanings of Chinese characters that speak (談), talk (話), convey opinions (說), and record (錄).