Jin Young Ko goes wire-to-wire at LPGA Founders Cup, matches Annika Sorenstam’s mark of 14 consecutive rounds in the 60’s

It’s fitting that Jin Young Ko chased history at the Cognizant Founders Cup, an event that celebrates the 13 women who laid the foundation 71 years ago.

Ko’s final-round 66 at the Cognizant Founders Cup marked her 14th consecutive round in the 60s, matching the single-season efforts of Annika Sorenstam in 2005. So Yeon Ryu also had 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s over the course of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Ko, of course, is no stranger to making history. In 2019, she went 114 holes without a bogey, toppling Tiger Woods’ record of 110.

“I had a lot of pressure on the course today,” said Ko, who hit 14 greens and took 27 putts on a rainy day in Jersey.

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Ko’s sub-70 streak dates back to the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship in July, when she carded a 69. The former No. 1 took a break from the LPGA after the Tokyo Olympics, skipping the AIG Women’s British Open and returning at the Cambia Portland Classic (69-67-69) in September, which she won. The streak continued at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (68-66-67), where she tied for sixth, and the ShopRite LPGA Classic (66-65-69), where she tied for second.

Ko is a staggering 56 under par in her last 14 rounds. She now has three victories this season.

“I needed to rest after the Olympics,” said Ko, “because I got a lot of pressure before the Olympics because, you know, Korean team is really difficult to get in the Olympics.

“So I had a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, and I change the swing coach after the Olympics, so I need to fix something of my swing and putting.”

Ko went to Titleist while at home in South Korea and liked the look of the Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5. She’s won twice in her last four starts with it  in the bag and came one stroke shy of a playoff.

When asked for a swing thought from her new coach, she said: “I had a lot of problem of my swing, so I can’t pick just one thing.”

Now a 10-time winner on the LPGA, Ko won the 2019 Founders Cup the last time the event was held in Arizona. This week at Mountain Ridge Country Club, Ko shot 63-68-69-66 to go wire-to-wire in West Caldwell.

The 26-year-old South Korean star joins Paula Creamer, Shanshan Feng, Brooke Henderson and Mary Lena Faulk in a tie for 54^th on the all-time career victory list with 10 titles. She has 66 total starts since joining the tour full-time in 2018.

Caroline Masson shot 31 on the back nine to card a 7-under 64 and finish at 14 under, three shots ahead of Elizabeth Szokol, who recorded her second top-3 finish of the season.

“I can’t tell you how big this is,” said Masson. “It’s been a little bit rough this summer. Honestly, like mentally it was really, really tough stretch, probably the toughest in my career.”

Nelly Korda took 35 putts in the final round to shoot 73 and drop to a tie for 19th. She will remain No. 1 in the world.

Only three events are left on the LPGA calendar in 2021. Ko plans to play in all three, including the next stop in South Korea. She’ll fly there soon from Dallas to visit friends and prepare. Nelly will play in the last two events in Florida as well as next week’s LET event – the Aramco Team Series sponsored by Golf Saudi, taking place Oct. 14-16 at Glen Oaks Club on Long Island, New York.