Jin Young Ko eases to ANA Inspiration victory
South Korean claims her first major success in California
Monday 8 April 2019 06:22, UK
Jin Young Ko claimed her first major success with a dominant performance in the final round of the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage in California.
The 23-year-old became the fifth South Korean winner of the tournament as she carded a two-under 70 in the final round to finish on 10-under 278.
That left her three clear of compatriot Mi Hyang Lee with American Lexi Thompson producing a strong finish to claim third place.
Ko started the day with a one-shot advantage and stretched her lead with birdies at the second and fifth.
She missed a short par putt at the eighth but was back on track with her third birdie of the round at the 11th.
Her calm progress towards the title was checked by bogeys at the 13th and 15th which brought Lee within one shot, but she recovered with a birdie at the 16th and, after parring the 17th, wrapped up the victory in style by holing from 15 feet for another birdie at the 18th.
Ko was winning for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour and completing a desert sweep after taking the Founders Cup in Phoenix last month. She leads the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year.
Lee started where she had left off on Saturday, when she finished with a hole-in-one and a birdie, by birdieing the first two holes but she failed to close any further on Ko on the front nine and dropped a shot at the seventh.
A birdie at the 12th gave her a chance to pounce on Ko's back-nine errors but she could only par the last six holes to finish on seven under thanks to a two-under 70.
Thompson, the 2014 champion at Mission Hills Country Club, was seven off the pace overnight but stormed up the leaderboard with a five-under 67, which featured seven birdies and two bogeys, to finish on six under.
Spain's Carlota Ciganda also finished strongly with a flawless four-under 68 to share fourth place on five under with In-Kyung Kim of South Korea.
Kim started the day just one behind Ko but failed to put any pressure on her compatriot as she dropped back with a bogey at the third and a double-bogey seven at the 11th before signing for a 74 after a birdie at the 15th.
England's Charley Hull recorded four bogeys over the opening seven holes, but then played the final 11 holes in five under par as she closed with a two-under 70 to end up on three under and in a tie for 12th place.
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In contrast, her compatriot Jodi Ewart Shadoff began with three birdies over the first four holes but was one over for the rest of her round as she also signed for a 70 which left her tied for 39th on two over.
Georgia Hall, the Women's British Open champion, has not enjoyed the best of weeks and she rounded off her tournament with a one-over 73 to finish tied for 61st on five over.
