There was no missing the smile on Jin Young Ko’s face as she stood on the 18th green at Sentosa Golf Club on Sunday in Singapore, victorious for a second straight year at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. But there was no missing the tears, either. The 12-month odyssey to win once more and claim her 14th career LPGA title was one that pushed the 27-year-old South Korean star unlike any other time in her impressive professional career. And the normally stoic Ko couldn’t hide her emotions.

“[I tried] to listen to the birds and feel the wind and rain,” she said. “But it was really hard to keep my poker face.”

Tears of joy ?

Jin young Ko wins the 2023 @HWWCGolf! ? pic.twitter.com/gWzPE46jIA

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 5, 2023

Ko shot a final-round 69 for a 17-under 271 to fend off challenges from two American stars, Nelly Korda (second at 15 under) and Danielle Kang (T-3 at 14 under), as well as Japan’s Ayaka Furue (T-3 at 14) and American Allisen Corpuz. Ko overcame yet another rain delay, the three day out of four where play was interrupted, with just three holes remaining and a victory in her sights.

Danielle Kang made a charge on Sunday, but a closing 68 wasn’t enough to pass Jin Young Ko. Lionel Ng

The stoppage helped Ko focus again. She’d started the final round with a two-shot edge on Korda, but saw the lead shrink to one as Kang, who shot a second-round 63 to hole the halfway lead, made five birdies on her first 13 holes to make a charge. But Ko counted with her fourth birdie on the day at 13th just as Kang made bogey on the 16th, to hold back Kang. And when Korda bogeyed the 14th while playing beside Ko in the final group, Ko could breathe easier even while stymied by the rain.

“I had a one-shot lead the first 15 or 16 and I know Nelly is behind me. I thought it was just one or two shots, so it was close,” Ko said. “But after the delay, I rested in the dining, and I saw the TV and the scoreboard, and three-shot lead. But I had two more holes left, so thought, let’s make a par, like safe play. But it was really hard to make par 17, 18, but yeah, it was hard but I make it.”

After Ko’s win in Singapore a year ago, the then World No. 1 and reigning LPGA player of the year was looking like she would take her career to another impressive level. Her closing-round 66 was her 15th consecutive round in the 60s, a new LPGA record. It was her 29th round in the 60s over her last 30. But instead, the nagging wrist injury that she had learned to play through worsened, and suddenly Ko couldn’t perform. She had only four top-10 showings in her next 15 start, and in the summer she missed back-to-back cuts for the first time ever. She fell to fifth in the Rolex Women’s Ranking and sat out a start in Portland where she was the defending champion and returned to finish a disappointing T-33 at the CME Group Tour Championship.

Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz congratulate Jin Young Ko on the 18th green after her victory. Andrew Redington

But, finally, time off seemed to pay off, her wrist healed enough to train again with her coach in Vietnam. The first hint of a return to form came a week earlier with a Sunday 64 to finish T-6 at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

With the win, Ko has now claimed a title in a sixth straight LPGA season and defended a title for a third time in her LPGA career. Moreover, she has had the confidence return that appeared to be lost last summer.

“It’s the most important [win]. Because I had a tough year last year, and I fought with injury and not good game and mentally tough and everything, and then I won this week,” Ko said. “So it’s going to be more important to me and it’s going to be big momentum for me in my life.”

The post Jin Young Ko fends off Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang to grab ‘the most important win’ of her career appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

When Jin Young Ko claimed the HSBC Women’s World Championship title a year ago, she left Singapore on top of women’s golf world. With her two-stroke win, it marked the sixth straight year in which she had grabbed an LPGA Tour victory. Her closing-round 66 was her 15th consecutive round in the 60s, a new LPGA record. It was her 29th round in the 60s over her last 30. The then Rolex Women’s World Rankings No. 1 seemed primed for another spectacular season, the potential to overtake Lorena Ochoa for the most weeks as the top player in the rankings was within her sights.

In hindsight, that Sunday in Singapore was no springboard, but rather a plateau that Ko is still coming to terms with. In the months to follow, the 27-year-old South Korean star suffered another wrist injury setback that caused her to endure the worst stretch of her tour career, one she’s still navigating.

“There were some tough times last year,” Ko said Tuesday during a pre-tournament press conference at Sentosa Golf Club. “But because of those times, I learned that I needed to practice the right away, what I needed to do, and what I needed to work on. It was an important year for me.”

Ko missed back-to-back cuts for the first time in her six-year career last August at the AIG Women’s Open and CP Women’s Open. She did not defend her title at the Cambia Portland Classic, resting her wrist instead.

Her return in October continued with wrist pain. Ko’s best finish over her last four tournaments came at the limited-field CME Group Tour Championship, a T-33. In the offseason, she returned to her old coach, Si Woo Lee, to find answers as Ko remained physically and mentally tired.

In a text exchange with Golf Digest, Lee noted that Ko’s body and rotation patterns “had broken a lot,” getting smaller compared to her swing in previous years. The two spent a month working together in Vietnam, emphasizing building stamina and fixing her swing mechanics. “So I keep asking her [to use her] upper and lower body turn rather than use of the wrist and arm.”

Ko saw some progress a week ago at the Honda LPGA Thailand, her first start of 2023, where she shot a closing 64 to finish T-6. Ahead of that event she shared that her wrist feels better and that she’s working out to protect it more. Her coach more precisely described where her injury is now, stating she’s at “70-80 per cent free from wrist injuries.”

While Lee and Ko have been working together to put a new swing in place, there’s also been working rebuilding Ko’s mental stamina. Judy Rankin once described the 13-time winner as being as good under pressure “as anybody we’ve ever watched.” To restore that, Lee and Ko have turned to meditation to start solving her mental exhaustion. Ko now meditates every morning and night. The routine alleviates some of the pressures the two-time player of the year has and helps keep her present on the course.

“All the players have high expectations, and that makes it [easy to become] tired,” Ko said. “So I don’t want to [put] high expectations myself. Just look the ball and just hit it and just walk and then hit again, that’s it.”

The proof started showing in her final round in Thailand. It’s was her lowest round from the now World No. 5 player since last May at the Palos Verdes Championship. The T-6 finish was her first top-10 since the Amundi Evian Championship in July.

“I don’t have word to describe what went down on that last round,” Ko said. “I feel that I’ve managed to show true moments and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”

Putting more of those moments together can start returning Ko to where she was at the end of last year’s HSBC Women’s World Championship. Right at the top of her game.

The post How this LPGA star is trying to bounce back from a year of injuries and doubt appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Paisley
Hyo Joo Kim wore a full-face mask all week at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, not because of COVID concerns but due to a severe sun allergy. Kim’s hat and sunglasses covered the rest of her face, giving her the appearance of a beekeeper heading to work.

The coverings kept secret the emotions the 25-year-old South Korean was feeling as she made up a five-shot deficit coming into the final round at Singapore’s Sentosa Country Club. With a bogey-free 64, Kim rallied for her fourth career LPGA Tour victory, but the first since the 2016 Pure-Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic.

“Winning after such a long time, it feels like my first win of all,” said the former major champion (2014 Evian) through her translator after finishing at 17-under 271 for the tournament. “It feels like a dream at this moment.”

Kim delivered a dream-like performance on Sunday, passing nine players en route to victory. Her first birdie came on the par-5 fifth and from there, she got on a roll, making seven more over her next 10 holes.

As Kim made her comeback, her biggest challengers came from her own group and the final threesome of the day. Patty Tavatanakit, recent ANA Inspiration winner, was playing beside Kim and made seven birdies of her own. A closing 65 left Tavatanakit at 15 under, two back of Kim, and eventually in a tie for third along with 54-hole lead Xiyu Lin and Inbee Park.

When Kim made her last birdie on the 15th hole, she also held a two-shot edge over Australia’s Hannah Green, who was playing in the last group with Lin and Park. Green came into the tournament with momentum, posting top-15 finishes in her last three starts, including a T-3 a week ago at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open. She lingered on the leader board Sunday before holing out for eagle on the par-4 14th, her second eagle hole out of the weekend, to tie Kim at 17 under.

AN EAGLE FROM THE FAIRWAY TO TIE THE LEAD

What a shot from @hannahgreengolf! ?@HWWCGolf | @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/t3ajgKK70F

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 2, 2021

As Kim watched from the players’ lounge, eating a hot pot with friends to curb her hunger in case she had more golf to play, Green grabbed the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole. But the Aussie couldn’t seal her third career LPGA win, her putter betraying her on the 17th and 18th holes. Back-to-back three-putt bogeys saw her finish one stroke back of Kim.

“Made a really good putt on 16 to make birdie, but obviously pretty disappointed to have two three-putts finishing,” Green said, posting a closing 69.

After not playing at all on the LPGA Tour in 2020, deciding to remain in Korea and play the KLPGA in the midst of the COVID pandemic (where she won twice), Kim set a goal for 2021 to end her LPGA victory drought. Taking the title, however, also gives her some breathing room in trying to qualify for the South Korean team that will compete at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo. Ranked No. 9 in the Rolex Women’s Rankings, Kim was solidly in the fourth and final spot on the team starting the week, with Jeongeun Lee6 the next closest Korean at No. 17. Kim missed out on representing her country in Rio in 2016.

The current four players slotted to represent Korea—Jin Young Ko (first in the Rolex Ranking), Inbee Park (second) and Sei Young Kim (third) joining Kim (9th)—have all won once on the LPGA in the last six months. Qualifying for the team ends June 28.

Lionel Ng
Hyo Joo Kim poses with the trophy after winning on Sunday at Sentosa Golf Club.

“I didn’t really give a lot of thought about going to the Olympics,” Kim said, “but I heard from my fans that they want me to end up on the Olympics. So with this win, I feel very confident to represent Korea.”

Not to mention proud to be an LPGA winner once more.

The post South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim becomes latest top-ranked player to end LPGA winless streak appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Paisley
This week is the first time since November 2019 that the LPGA will be holding a tournament in Asia. The HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore kicks off a two-event/three-week stretch (originally scheduled for three in three) that marks the tour’s return after officials had to cancel the scheduled spring and fall Asian swings in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While a handful of top American players, including Nelly and Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson and Jennifer Kupcho, aren’t making the trip, the 69-player field at Sentosa Golf Club has nine of the top 15 on the Rolex Women’s Ranking competing with heightened health and safety measures in place.

The COVID protocols used in the tour’s six U.S. events so far in 2021 have required players, caddies and tour staff to be tested twice before being allowed on the course at a tournament, first at home (a negative test needed to travel), then upon arriving onsite. Players could practice and do anything outdoors until they received a negative result. After that, players were allowed to go to restaurants to pick up to-go orders, but otherwise had to either be at the golf course or wherever they were staying, be it a hotel or an Airbnb.

As outlined by an LPGA spokesperson, players and caddies making the trip across the Pacific (agents and family have been prohibited) all had to take COVID tests in Los Angeles last Friday at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open to be cleared to fly. Each needed to download the app TraceTogether on their smartphones; the nation-state has required everyone in Singapore to have it since last October. They all also had to take another COVID test after arriving at the airport in Singapore or the designated hotel, where the tour has secured rooms on specific floors.

“Life is different with COVID,” said Inbee Park, twice a winner of HSBC title. “We had a 17-and-a-half hour flight from L.A. to here. After that we were sent to hotel and got tested and then another probably 12 to 14 hours in the room quarantined. Probably we spent about 30, 40 hours just indoors.”

Only room service will be allowed for player dining during the evenings. Shuttles will carry players to and from the hotel to the course.

For the following week’s Honda LPGA Thailand tournament, the tour has set up a chartered flight to take players from Singapore to Thailand. There are also designated flights to Thailand from the United States for those only playing at Siam Country Club. No tracing app is required, but all the other regulations will carry over.

“I know it is sometimes tough when you are just stuck in the room and just, you know, there’s nothing you can do,” Park said. “But obviously we are doing it for everyone’s safety and that’s what we need to do. … It’s just something that we need to do in order to play golf tournaments.”

The tour was supposed to go from Thailand to China for the Blue Bay LPGA, but that event was cancelled earlier this year because of COVID concerns.

Upon the resumption of the LPGA schedule in the U.S. at the Pure Silk Championship, there will be another protocol tweak for players at Kingsmill Resort in Virginia. For the first time, the tour will allow limited outdoor dining. Otherwise, the rules remain the same that the players had heading into Los Angeles.

As is the case on the PGA Tour, where commissioner Jay Monahan has encouraged players to get vaccines but will not require them to compete, LPGA chief Mike Whan has taken the same tact. Unlike the PGA Tour, however, the LPGA has not decided whether vaccinated players will be able to bypass weekly testing as the year moves on.

The post As the LPGA returns to Asia for the first time in 17 months, players adjust to a stricter COVID bubble appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
For the second and third time in 2020, the LPGA has had to cancel tournaments that are part of its early-season Asian swing due to concerns over the coronavirus.

On Sunday night, the tour released a statement announcing that the Honda LPGA Thailand, set for Feb. 20-23, and the HSBC Women’s World Championship, scheduled for Feb. 27-March 1 in Singapore, were both postponed. This comes after the tour had previously cancelled the Blue Bay LPGA in China, which was to be played March 5-8.

In a statement, the tour said: “It is always a difficult decision to cancel events, and the LPGA greatly appreciates the understanding and all the efforts made by our title sponsors (Honda and HSBC) as well as IMG to host incredible events for our players. The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. While we are disappointed that these tournaments will not take place this season, we look forward to returning to Asia soon.”

After the LPGA competes for a second straight week in Australia with the upcoming ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, there will now be a four-week gap in the schedule, before the tour resumes play at the Volvik Founders Cup in Arizona March 19-22.

Hee Young Park won the tour’s third tournament of 2020 on Sunday, taking the ISPS Handa Vic Open title in a sudden-death playoff.

The post LPGA cancels the remaining two Asian swing tournaments due to the coronavirus appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
The injury woes continue for Michelle Wie.

After withdrawing from last month’s HSBC Women’s World Championship because of a wrist injury 14 holes into the opening round, Wie has pushed back her return to the course, pulling out of this week’s Kia Classic on Monday night, according to LPGA.com.

The latest setback comes a week before the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration.

The 29-year-old Wie had just returned to action in February following surgery last October to repair a small fracture, bone spurs and a pinched nerve in her right wrist and hand, tying for 23rd at the Honda LPGA in Thailand. A week later, however, she cited returning pain and pulled out of her title defense at the HSBC in Singapore, where she had made five bogeys and two doubles through her first nine holes before withdrawing.

Wie later said on Instagram that an MRI showed her “surgery site was healing great,” but that she was still dealing with nerve entrapment due to tendon inflammation.

It is unclear whether Wie will be able to play next week at Mission Hills.

The post Michelle Wie’s status for first LPGA major up in air as she WDs from Kia Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
One of the LPGA’s top talents, Sung Hyun Park, admits she has had a little trouble with early-season play so far in her young career. It wasn’t until the fifth event of the year, the ANA Inspiration, that she logged her first top-20 finish in 2018. In the 2019 season, the current World No. 2 finished T-21 in her first event. But in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Park put an end to what looked like was becoming a trend by shooting a final-round 64 at Sentosa Golf Club to win by two over Minjee Lee. It’s the sixth LPGA win for the 25-year-old from South Korea.

“I didn’t think I would win this fast, and I’m really happy,” Park said. “I used to have a tough beginning in the last years, and this first win was so fast, I think I will play really comfortably the rest of my season.”

Park began the final round four shots back of World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn. But Park started her round with three straight birdies, setting an early tone. Jutanugarn, meanwhile, stumbled with a double bogey at the fourth and never found her rhythm, ultimately shooting a final-round 75. Park continued her strong play, making two more birdies and her lone bogey of the day to turn with a four-under 32, before posting four birdies on her back nine to cap a 15-under 273 total for the week.

Park cited her focus as the reason for her win. She said that she held her umbrella low throughout the round not just to protect herself from the sun, but to narrow her field of vision, allowing her to concentrate on the task at hand.

Even after the win, Park remained locked in on what’s ahead in 2019: “No change on my goals this season,” Park said. “I still have four more wins to go.”

Beyond her ability to stay hyper-focused, Park also gave credit to Tiger Woods for the victory.

After a successful career on the Korean LPGA Tour, Park joined the LPGA Tour in 2017. Her popularity is obvious by the number of fans who travel from South Korea to watch her play around the world. Her fans call her by a few nicknames, one of which being Tiger—after her idol. Both Park and Woods are sponsored by TaylorMade and they met for the first time at a TaylorMade shoot in February.

“If Tiger is watching this interview,” Park said in her post-win press conference, “then I would want to say that because we met, you gave me such a good energy, that made me win this tournament.”

The post Sung Hyun Park wins sixth LPGA title, credits Tiger Woods appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
A season that began with plenty of promise after a victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March, took an all-too-familiar turn for Michelle Wie. Hampered once again by injury—this time what was finally diagnosed as an avulsion fracture, bone spurs and nerve entrapment in her right hand—the former U.S. Women’s Open champion found herself sitting out several tournaments in 2018 in hopes that time was all she needed to get healthy.

But on Thursday, Wie, who turned 29 last week, shared on social media that her season had come to an end after undergoing surgery.

Update pic.twitter.com/re5iTX8svy

— Michelle Wie (@MichelleWieWest) October 18, 2018

Wie played a full schedule through June, posting three more top-15 finishes, before missing the cut at the Ladies Scottish Open in late July. A week later, she withdrew from the Ricoh Women’s British Open and proceeded to sit out the next two months of action, missing the year’s final major at the Evian Championship in September.

She finally returned to action earlier this month, playing for the U.S. squad at the UL International Crown in South Korea, where she went 1-3 in her matches as the Americans tied for second place. She stayed in Korea to play in last week’s LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship but struggled to a 66th-place finish with just one round under par.

Wie played with her right hand bandaged during her return at the UL International Crown, but the pain lingered. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

In recent years, ailments to her neck, back, hip, knee and ankle, along with arthritis issues and an emergency appendectomy, have kept five-time LPGA Tour winner off the course. While not offering a timetable on when she might play again, Wie sounded optimistic about the future.

“It’s been disheartening dealing with pain in my hand all year, but hopefully I am finally on the path to being and STAYING pain free!”

The post Michelle Wie undergoes surgery, out for the remainder of the 2018 season appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Wie hadn’t claimed an LPGA title since her 2014 U.S. Women’s Open triumph at Pinehurst, despite several top-five finishes in the ensuing three-plus years. But that changed on Sunday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The leader board was packed at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore, with major champions Danielle Kang and Brooke Henderson, up-and-comer Nelly Korda and LPGA Tour winner Jenny Shin all looking like they could pull away at any moment and take the win.

Starting the day five strokes off of Korda’s lead, Wie played flawlessly, making six birdies over her first 17 holes. When Shin, playing one group ahead of Wie, finished with a bogey on the 18th, Wie needed one more birdie on the home hole to be the leader in the clubhouse and put pressure on Korda and Kang, who were playing in the group behind her.

Wie’s approach shot on 18 came up a little short, leaving her with a 35-foot putt from the fringe for birdie. And then came the theatrics, the ball tracking for the cup all the way. Wie’s reaction when it fell in on the low side, well see for yourself.

With this clutch putt on 18, @themichellewie wins the HSBC Women’s World Championship! #HWWC

A post shared by LPGA Tour (@lpga_tour) on Mar 3, 2018 at 10:55pm PST

“There is no better feeling than when you sink that winning putt,” said Wie, who finished the day with a bogey-free 65 and the tournament with a 17-under 271. “It’s a high, for sure. You go out there, and it’s this feeling that gets you going. It’s this feeling that makes you practice. It’s that winning putt that makes you practice for hours and hours and hours, and even the hard times, it gets you going back. You know that good feeling is on the other side.”

Of course, Wie had to wait things out, but when Korda and Kang missed birdie putts on the 18th afterward—Korda from eight feet, Kang from 20—Wie had recorded her fifth career LPGA win 16 years after playing her first LPGA event and nine years after joining the LPGA Tour.

Suhaimi Abdullah

Throughout her career, Wie has played under tremendous pressure, all of the expectations that come with being a prodigy have been following her since she turned professional in 2005. Now 28, Wie looks to be more comfortable on the golf course than at any other time. She’s working through injuries, found a swing that, although a bit different from the the long, smooth move that she came out on tour with, works for her. She’s tinkered with her putting stroke to find a posture and grip that has her making more putts. And her demeanor on the course, a focused but lighter presence, portrays a player who’s genuinely happy to be out there competing. Wie has been through a lot, but instead of being dragged down by expectations and injuries, she’s evolved.

“It’s been a tough journey since 2014. I think it’s been kind of well documented. … But I’m just really proud of myself for pulling myself out of it,” Wie said. “I felt like I had a good year last year, a year where I built confidence, and I just want to keep building confidence from there. I just want to keep rising. I just want to keep playing the best I can, trying the hardest I can and trying to become the best player that I can be.”

Though this win is big for her, it’s not just a win for Wie; it’s also a win for American women’s golf. There have been four LPGA events so far this season, and Americans have won three times, Wie joining Brittany Lincicome and Jessica Korda. It’s the first time U.S. golfers have won three of the first four events on the LPGA schedule since 2007.

“I think we’re definitely on the rise,” said Wie of her fellow American golfers. “I think from Solheim play last year, you can definitely see the strength of our American players. You know, Jessica Korda dominating last week, and it’s been great to see. That’s a pretty cool stat and I’m pretty proud to be part of it.”

The post Michelle Wie drops 35-foot birdie putt on final hole to clinch first win since 2014 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.