No. 1 Ko Jin-young finished 4th at the Gainbridge LPGA

Golfer Ko Jin-young tees off on the 16th hole during the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club on Feb. 28 in Orlando, Florida. [YONHAP/AFP]

Ko Jin-young, the world’s No. 1 women’s golfer, finished fourth at the Gainbridge LPGA, her fourth consecutive top-five finish since the 2020 Volunteers of America Classic.

Ko hit a one-under-par-71 that included four birdies and three bogeys in the final round of the tournament at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida on Sunday. She finished fourth with an 11-under 277 in the four-day competition.

Finishing third place the previous day, Ko made up two strokes in the first half of the round, but she was far from winning in the second half, with bogeys at the 10th hole (par 4) and 13th hole (par 3).

Ko missed the championship, but raised expectations for the season by finishing up in the top five.

American golfer Nelly Korda lifted the trophy with a 16-under 272. It is her fourth personal career win in a year and four months since the Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA in 2019.

It is also the second time in LPGA Tour history that sisters have won consecutive events, with her sister, Jessica, winning the season’s opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champion. The first was Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam in 2000 – Annika won the Welch’s/Circle K Championship on March 13, and Charlotta won the Standard Register PING on March 19.

Lydia Ko, a Korean-born New Zealand professional golfer, tied for second place with a 13-under 275.

Chun In-gee, Chella Choi and Jenny Shin tied for eighth place at 8-under 280 overall. World No. 2 Kim Sei-young tied for 24th with a total of four under par in the final round.

Annika Sorenstam, who made her first appearance on Tour since 2008, won a big round of applause as she finished the tournament in 74th place with a total of 13 over par.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]