Ko Jin-young looks to go three in a row at HSBC Women’s World Championship

Ko Jin-young tees off on the first hole of the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore on March 5, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

Ko Jin-young is returning to the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore on Thursday as she looks to go three in a row at the LPGA tournament.

Ko, 28, won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 to become the second golfer in tournament history to win the event twice after Korean golf legend and LPGA Hall of Famer Park In-bee.

The tournament has been dominated by Korean golfers since it first began in 2008, with six Korean golfers claiming the title.

The dominance was clear over the past four years, as all four winners were Korean: Park Sung-hyun in 2019, Kim Hyo-joo in 2021 and Ko for the last two years. The tournament did not take place in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Park is not competing this year, but Kim and 2009 champion Shin Ji-yai will join Ko in the field.

The former Korean champions will compete alongside some prominent figures on the Tour, including Lilia Vu, ranked at No. 1 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

No. 3 Celine Boutier, No. 4 Ruoning Yin, No. 5 Minjee Lee, No. 7 Lydia Ko and No. 10 Xiyu Lin will also join the tournament. No. 2 Nelly Korda is skipping the event.

Ko Jin-young is ranked at No. 6, and Kim is at No. 9 as of Wednesday.

For Ko, a third consecutive title at the World Championship could be a chance to elevate her ranking en route to the No. 1 spot where she has previously spent a record 163 weeks.

She has not reclaimed the top spot since ceding it in July last year.

If Ko wins the title this year, she will be the first Korean golfer to win a trophy on the Tour this season. Last year she was also first, winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and going on to secure another title at the Cognizant Founders Cup in May to end the season as the only multi Korean winner on the Tour.

For Lydia Ko and Patty Tavatanakit, a victory at the tournament will be their second trophy of the 2024 season.

Alongside Ko Jin-young, Kim Hyo-joo and Shin Ji-yai, nine other countrywomen — Choi Hye-jin, Chun In-gee, Ryu Hae-ran, Kim A-lim, Kim Sei-young, Lee Mi-hyang, Jenny Shin, Amy Yang and Ji Eun-hee — will be competing for a total purse of $1.8 million, with $270,000 on the line for the winner at Sentosa Golf Club.

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