Jinyoung Ko (26) won the LPGA Tour Cambia Portland Classic ($1.4 million total prize money).
Jinyoung Ko recorded a 3-under-par 69 with three birdies in the third round of the tournament held at The Oregon Golf Club (par 72, 6,478 yards) in West Lyn, Oregon, USA on the 20th (Korean time).
Jin-young Ko, who hit a final total of 11-under 205, climbed to the top by four strokes behind tied 2nd place Lee Jeong-eun (33) and Korean player Oh Su-hyeon (Australia).
Following the VOA Classic in July this year, she achieved 2 wins this season and 9 wins on the LPGA Tour.
The prize money for winning this competition is $210,000 (about 240 million won).
With this win, Korean players have won their 4th on the LPGA Tour this year.
Jinyoung Ko took two wins alone, and Inbi Park (33) and Hyojoo Kim (26) recorded one win each.
Also, it is the first time in 12 years for a Korean player to win this tournament since Huh Mi-jung (32) in 2009.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held as a 72-hole game in round 4, but due to heavy rain the day before, the tournament could not be held and was reduced to 54 holes in round 3.
Jin-Young Ko, who was in first place alone by one stroke ahead of the second place until the second round, achieved a relatively comfortable victory by taking the lead by five strokes with an unobtrusive play that day.
Jema Driver (Scotland), who was in second place by one shot, lost one shot in the first six holes, and Jin-Young Ko made birdies on the 7th and 11th holes to increase the number of at-bats.
Jinyoung Ko, who had the only crisis on the day when his tee shot on the 8th hole (par 3) went off the green, blocked the hole with a par, and since the middle of the day, he has cruised by three to five strokes ahead of the second-placed players.
On the last 18th hole (par 5), which started with a 3 stroke lead, he added a 6m mid-range birdie putt and added the joy of winning.
Jinyoung Ko, who won the official tournament after about a month and a half since the Tokyo Olympics in early August, said in a local broadcast interview after the match, “I wanted to go to the AIG Women’s Open in England after the Olympics, but I spent time staying in Korea to recharge.” In Korean, it is an honor to be able to give you a Chuseok gift.
I hope you have a good holiday by eating a lot of songpyeon,” he greeted domestic fans.
Both Lee Jung-eun, with the same name, were in the top 10.
Her older sister Jeong-eun Lee finished tied for second with a 7-under 209 shot, and Lee Jung-eun, 25, a former LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, tied for 8th with a 3-under 213 shot.
Park Seong-hyeon (28), who had been sluggish recently, finished the tournament in a tie for 15th with Mi-jeong Heo and others with a 2-under-par 214.
This is the first time in about a year that Park Sung-hyun has been in the top 20 since she placed 17th in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in October last year.
/yunhap news
