Ko Jin-young finishes second after playoff at CPKC Open

Ko Jin-young hits on the fifteenth hole during the final round of the CPKC Women's Open at Shaughnessy Golf Course in Vancouver, Canada on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young finished as runner-up in the CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, Canada on Sunday, narrowly missing out on the chance to win her 16th LPGA title.

Ko showed a remarkable performance throughout the CPKC Women’s Open and managed a three-under-par, 69 on Sunday, for a final score of nine-under-par, 279, to tie with Megan Khang of the United States.

It came down to a playoff on the par-4 18th hole and Ko took a penalty after her shot went off the cart path. She only managed a double bogey, while Khang carded a par, missing a chance to win her third title of the season.

Sunday’s result showed that Ko is back in form in the early days of the season. She secured two titles at the HSBC Women’s World Championships in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup in May, but failed to manage a top-10 finish until Sunday.

She still remains the only Korean golfer to have won a title on the LPGA Tour this season.

The result on Sunday will likely lift her ranking next week — currently ranked at No. 4 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. She claimed the No. 1 spot after winning the Founders Cup in May and even went on to become the first golfer ever to have spent 159 weeks at No. 1 on June 26, breaking the 158-week record set by former golfer Lorena Ochoa.

That record run came to an end on July 31 at 163 weeks when she ceded the No. 1 position to Nelly Korda of the United States.

Korda is now No. 2, with countrywoman Lilia Vu holding the No. 1 spot after winning the AIG Women’s Open — one of the LPGA majors — earlier this month.

The LPGA will continue on Thursday with Portland Classic teeing off at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Oregon.

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