Jin Young Ko shatters records in HSBC Women’s Championship win

Jin Young Ko’s victory on Sunday morning at the HSBC Women’s World Championship would be considered dominant, were it not so routine.

The fact of the matter is, the 26-year-old LPGA Tour pro is winning at a clip unseen by anyone not named Tiger Woods, and it doesn’t appear as though she has any plans of stopping.

Ko won again on Sunday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, a final-round, six-under 66 carrying the way to her 24th professional victory. Not that it was a surprise, anyway — with the victory, Ko has now won six of her last 10 starts. (For those scoring at home, yes, that is a 60 percent winning percentage … in golf.)

The numbers are staggering (more on those in a moment), but most impressive is that Ko recorded them while struggling through half of Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.

“My first three round[s], four days, I felt [un]comfortable to my swing in the front nine,” Ko told reporters after the final round Sunday. “So I found something and I got a lot of birdies on [the] back nine. And I don’t know what happened on the front nine, but still pretty good.”

Pretty good? Try, “historically good.” In addition to winning six of her last 10, Ko has gone 15 consecutive rounds in the 60s and recorded 30 consecutive rounds under par, both LPGA Tour records. Factor in her obscene GIR streak from the fall, and Ko might well be attempting to rewrite the women’s golf history books … in the span of six months.

It’s even more impressive to consider the scope of Ko’s records when you factor in her own focus during the closing stretch was just getting home.

“I just wanted to finish fast because it’s hot,” she said with a laugh. “I just wanted to go back to my hometown. That’s all I had in mind.”

In the meantime, Ko leaves Singapore on the LPGA’s most dominant hot streak in recent memory and as World No. 1. With the calendar ready to flip to major championship season, it’s hard to think of a player more primed for a monster summer season.

But Ko isn’t worried about the majors, at least not yet. Her next act, she says, is figuring out how to make her winning routine even more routine.

“It’s a great honor [to break records],” she said. “My next event will be in L.A., so I need to small take time before the event. So I can practice more in the break time [to play] a little bit better than the last couple of days.”

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is an assistant editor at GOLF, contributing stories for the website and magazine on a broad range of topics. He writes the Hot Mic, GOLF’s weekly media column, and utilizes his broadcast experience across the brand’s social media and video platforms. A 2019 graduate of Syracuse University, James — and evidently, his golf game — is still defrosting from four years in the snow, during which time he cut his teeth at NFL Films, CBS News and Fox Sports. Prior to joining GOLF, James was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from.