Ko Jin-young makes history as first golfer to retain HSBC championship

THEY say it is easier to win a title than to defend it. South Korean golfer Ko Jin-young could not agree more with this statement after enduring an injury-hit 2022.

But despite the difficulties, Ko went on to become the first player to defend the US$1.8 million HSBC Women’s World Championship title.

“This is the most important win of my career,” said the current world No 5 star on Sunday (Mar 5), at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course.

“I’ve had a very tough year, fighting through injuries and missed cuts. This win is a big moment for me. I hope it will provide momentum for my next 20 events or so,” said the 27-year-old.

The former world No 1 was visibly emotional, crying openly after she collected par, and was embraced by her flightmates, caddie David Brooker, and supporters.

On the fourth and final day of the annual tournament, there were two stoppages of 20 minutes and one hour, respectively, due to inclement weather.

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However, the South Korean golfer kept her composure throughout the incidences.

Ko, the overnight leader by two strokes, achieved a two-shot victory over American Nelly Korda.

At one point, Ko widened her lead to three; but this advantage later dropped to just one as Korda and teammate Danielle Kang closed in.

Eventually, though, Korda and the rest of the chasers fell off the pace. Ko raced to a comfortable victory with four holes to claim the winner’s cheque of US$270,000.

Ko carved out a three-under 69 for a 17-under 271 total to finish two strokes ahead of Korda (69), and three better than Allisen Corpuz (69), Kang (68) and Ayaka Furue (67).

She bagged birdies on the first, fifth, eighth and 13th holes, and rued a lone bogey on the par-four 11th.

She showed championship class with two of her efforts – first converting an 18-foot putt from outside the green on the par-four 10th, and from 15-feet on the par-five 13th after laying up with her second shot with no stance on the edge of a bunker.

Korda provided some fight with birdies on the third, fourth and fifth, but rued her approach that found the bunker leading to a bogey on the sixth and eighth, the latter for which her 220-yard “rescue” attempt on the 501-yard par-five fell short and ruined her birdie attempt after Ko achieved hers.

On the 418-yard par-four 12th, Korda enjoyed fortune as her drive hit a tree and veered perfectly onto the fairway. But instead of taking advantage of the luck, she played a bogey while Ko bagged a birdie.

Just when it seemed that Korda’s fight was ending, Kang, playing two flights in front, raised her game to be just one stroke behind Ko.

However, Kang, who shot a bogey-free 63 last Friday, crumbled with some poor executions – especially the flubbed par-putt on the par-five 16th – and fell out of contention.

Japan’s Yuka Saso and South Korea’s Kim A-lim shot the day’s best round of 66s, while Singapore’s Amanda Tan returned another 73 for an eight-over 296 at 62nd spot.

On the sidelines of the golf action, HSBC did its part to help raise funds and awareness for this year’s tournament beneficiary, the Autism Resource Centre (ARC).

Golfers Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand and Alison Lee of the US paid a visit to The Art Faculty – ARC’s social enterprise that celebrates the abilities of local artists on the autism spectrum.

The players, together with HSBC Singapore chief executive Wong Kee Joo, met artists Grace Ong and Selena Seow, whose artworks were featured on bespoke golf ball designs used for HSBC’s tournament social media contest called Play for Good.

The bank also helped to set up a pop-up booth at the tournament fan village, where the artists could showcase their designs to visitors and earn royalties from the sale of their artwork and merchandise.

Last week, HSBC hosted over 30 children from local golf clubs, and they had the chance to attend a clinic hosted by the 2018 HSBC champion Michelle Wie and Singapore’s golf star Tan.