Ko Jin-young looks to go two-in-a-row at Drive On Championship

Golf

Published: 22 Mar. 2023, 17:06 Updated: 23 Mar. 2023, 09:34

Ko Jin-young looks to go two-in-a-row at Drive On Championship

Ko Jin-young plays a shot at the HSBC Women's World Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on March 5. [AP/YONHAP]

The LPGA Drive on Championship tees off on Thursday at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Gold Canyon, Arizona as 144 golfers look to establish their dominance in the relatively new tournament.

Seventeen Korean golfers are competing in the tournament, including two big names: Ko Jin-young and Chun In-gee.

Ko is the most notable Korean golfer in recent years, not only because she ranks at No. 3 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, but also because she won the HSBC Women’s World Championship earlier this month after recovering from a wrist injury last season.

The upcoming tournament is a chance for Ko to win two LPGA events in a row and climb back up the world rankings to the top spot she ceded last November.

The former No. 1 dropped down to fifth on the rankings after she failed to display her best performance last season due to injury. She climbed up to No. 3 this month after defending her title at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

The Drive on Championship is relatively new on the LPGA Tour, starting in 2020 to give Tour members playing opportunities when travel was limited during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was added to the LPGA Tour schedule and the first official competition took place last year.

Ko competed in the event only once in 2021, when she did not make the cut.

Leona Maguire of Ireland was the first official winner of the competition last year, joining the field this year to defend her title.

Danielle Kang of the United States, who won the event in August 2020 before it was officially added to the LGPA Tour schedule, is also taking part alongside countrywoman Ally Ewing, who won it in October 2020.

Danielle Kang putts on the 18th hole of the HSBC Women's World Championship at the Sentosa Golf course, in Singapore on March 5. [AP/YONHAP]

The three former champions are facing Ko and the two other winners this season: World No. 7 Brooke Henderson of Canada, who won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, and Lilia Vu of the United States, who won the Honda LPGA Thailand last month.

Four other golfers who rank in the top 10 rankings are also joining the field: No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States, No. 4 Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, No. 6 Lexi Thompson of the United States and No. 8 Chun.

The top six golfers have all taken part in at least one LPGA tournament so far this year apart from No. 6 Thompson, who is making her first start of the year.

Meanwhile, No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand, No. 5 Minjee Lee of Australia, No. 9 Kim Hyo-joo and No. 10 Nasa Hataoka of Japan are skipping the competition.

No. 8 Chun, on the other hand, was not as successful in the recent LPGA Tour events as she had been, with her last title coming from the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last June. She finished in 24th place when Ko defended her title in the World Championship.

Chun In-gee watches her shot on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA Honda Thailand golf tournament in Pattaya, southern Thailand on Feb. 23. [AP/YONHAP]

The 15 other Korean golfers joining the two are Lee Jeong-eun6, Hong Yae-eun, Cho Hye-jin, Kim Sei-young, An Na-rin, Kim A-lim, Ji Eun-hee, Chella Choi, Amy Yang, Jenny Shin, Park Sung-hyun, Ryu Yeon-so, Kang Hae-ji, Ryu Hae-ran and Park Kum-kang.

Cho Hye-jin will be the first Korean golfer to tee off at 7:44 a.m. on the first hole alongside Cristie Kerr of the United States and Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa.

Chun will start at 12:44 p.m. on the first hole with former champion Danielle Kang and Jennifer Kupcho of the United States, followed by Ko at 12:55 p.m. on the same hole with No. 2 Korda and No. 7 Henderson.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]