Jin Young Ko wins LPGA Singapore by two strokes
SINGAPORE (AP) — Jin Young Ko won for the first time in a year at the HSBC Women's World Championship and hopes this signals a new start from a year of battling injuries that cost her the No. 1 ranking.
Ko answered an early charge by Nelly Korda, held her nerve during a 58-minute storm delay late in the round and closed with three straight pars for a 3-under 69 and a two-shot victory Sunday.
Ko now has 14 career wins on the LPGA Tour, including two majors, along with 11 titles on the Korea LPGA. She called this win her “most important.”
“Because I had a tough year last year and fought with injury, and not good game and mentally tough and everything,” Ko said. “And then I won this week.”
Ko has been at No. 1 in the world ranking longer than any active player, and she was on top of the world when she won in Singapore a year ago. But then she began to struggle with her wrist, and even taking time off for rest late in the year didn't seem to help. She now is No. 5 in the world.
Taking down an familiar foe in Korda only added to the moment.
“It's always hard to play with Nelly, especially on Sunday,” Ko said. “We had a lot of times to play in 2021. She hits it farther than last year, I think, so I don't look at her ball. It's hard, but love to compete with Nelly.”
The 27-year-old South Korean began with a two-shot lead and opened with a birdie to extend the lead. Korda charged back with three straight birdies and closed to within one shot, only to make her lone bogey on the sixth hole. Ko eventually restored the lead to three shots.
Korda closed with a 69.
“Didn't play really well but kind of didn't really battle as much as I wanted to,” Korda said. ”I just made a couple kind of silly mistakes here and there. It was nice to finish with a birdie and be in contention again, be in the final group feeling the emotions and hopefully I can build off of that going into the next few events now in the States.”
Ko wasn't paying close attention to the leaderboard and thought she had a one-shot lead when play was halted because of the weather. While in the clubhouse, she saw on TV that she had a three-shot lead with two to play.
“OK, let's make par, play safe. But it was really hard to make par on 17, 18,” Ko said. “It's a great honor to defend this title again.”
She is the first back-to-back winner of the HSBC Women's World Championship and joins Inbee Park as the only multiple winner of the tournament. Ko finished at 17-under 271 and earned $270,000. Allisen Corpuz (69), Danielle Kang (68) and Ayaka Furue (67) tied for third at 14-under 274.
Lydia Ko, who took over the No. 1 ranking at the end of last year and already has won in Saudi Arabia this year, closed with a 74 and finished 12 shots behind.
The LPGA Tour is off for the next two weeks before resuming in Arizona. RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) — Colombian rookie Nico Echavarria seized control with two straight birdies on the back nine and closed with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Puerto Rico for his first PGA Tour title.
Echavarria was soaked on a sunny day at Grand Reserve, with friends and family dousing him with champagne after he tapped in for par.
He tied the tournament record at 21-under 267. “I'm happy with life right now,” Echavarria said. “After missing four cuts in a row, only making two cuts, you just doubt yourself. I'm very grateful I kept pushing and got it done.”
Akshay Bhatia, who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, closed with a 65 to finish alone in second. Carson Young, who led through 36 holes, had a 71 and finished third tied with Nate Lashley (69).
Echavarria, a 28-year-old who played at Arkansas, becomes the third Colombian to win on the PGA Tour, joining Sebastian Munoz and Camilo Villegas.
Villegas finished some two hours earlier and stuck around to celebrate with his fellow Colombian. Villegas had sent him a voice message on Saturday, when Echavarria built a two-shot lead, telling him that there would be a moment Sunday when the rookie felt the tournament slipping away.
That came on the sixth hole, where Echavarria escaped with a bogey when it could have been worse. He birdied the seventh, bogeyed the next hole and didn't make a mistake the rest of the way.
“I was able to keep it together in a stressful moment,” Echavarria said. “I'm grateful he mentored me in that way.”
The victory gets him into The Players Championship, with its $25 million purse next week at the TPC Sawgrass. He also earned a spot in the PGA Championship and has a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.