Even World No.1 Jin Young Ko needs to fix her swing
In her last 10 starts, Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko has recorded nine top-10 finishes. Her five victories in that span included taking home a $1.5 million paycheck at the 2021 CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.
That big payday in November was the last time Ko played in a competitive event. She put her golf bag mostly away for nearly six weeks back home in Korea, making good on a promise she made following her win in Florida. “I spent time with my family and friends and my dog as well. And I watched Netflix in my bed with potato chips,” she said, having joked after her win that she just planned to relax in the offseason.
Ko picked the clubs back up for a month of training in Palm Springs, focusing on adjusting her backswing and rehabbing a wrist injury that lingered throughout the 2021 season. Already the owner of the longest-known bogey-free streak in golf history (114 holes in 2019), Ko comes to Singapore with another streak on the line. She has hit 63 consecutive greens in regulation, the longest recorded streak in LPGA and PGA Tour history.
“I think my irons, my club is good. Like not me, like my clubs are good,” said Ko. “And many people say, yeah, you hit the green 63 straight and all. And many people say this week is important a little bit, but I don’t want to think about it. Just having fun on the course.”
World No.4 Danielle Kang reveals her meaning of “feel” in golf
“Total today I failed. I played awful today.”
Thankfully, Danielle Kang followed those words with a big laugh in her press conference ahead of the HSBC Women’s World Championship. Ever the perfectionist, it doesn’t matter that today’s difficulties came during a pro-am round. Kang works to excel every day, not just in competition.
“It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a Tuesday or a Saturday at this point,” said Kang, who played for the fourth time with a group of HSBC executives that she called one of her favorite pro-am groups. “I still need to do what I need to do, whether it’s to execute the shot that’s in front of me, be able to feel what I need to feel.”
Kang has already notched a victory in 2022, following a win at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions with a runner-up finish at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. Her next month included practice sessions with coaches Butch Harmon and Pat Goss, chats with mental coach Micah Schnurstein, and nights out with friends in Las Vegas, including a visit to Bruno Mars’ new show “Silk Sonic.”
Now in Singapore for the eighth time, Kang is enjoying every second in a place she calls one of her favorite cities in the world.
“I hope that we have more tournaments in Asia, and hopefully we get higher purses and better field. Asian events are one of my favorite runs that we have on our schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I love the West Coast swing, but this Asia swing, it’s different. I know how much women’s golf is important to Asia,” said Kang. “And the support that HSBC has shown to LPGA is incredible. We’ve been consistent here. We’ve been bringing the fans, the sponsors. It’s just they treat us like royalties out here. Not only here, same thing with Thailand, Korea, Shanghai, all of them.
* Information and images credit to www.hsbcgolf.com and www.lpga.com
