Golfer Ko Jin-young competes for the first time in 192 days

The world’s No. 1 female golfer Ko Jin-young was visibly excited to compete in the first official tournament of the year on Jeju Island. As the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the South Korean golfer opened her first tournament of the season with the first round of the Lotte Cantata Ladies Open of the LPGA of Korea Tour held at Lotte Skyhill Jeju Country Club in Seogwipo on Thursday. Her last competition was the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship of the LPGA Tour 192 days ago in November last year.

As the resumption of the LPGA Tour becomes delayed, Ko decided to compete in the Jeju tournament to recover her form. “Although I was born in Seoul, Jeju is like the second home to me. In Jeju, I relieve stress hanging out in cafes with beautiful ocean views and often go to my favorite pork BBQ place,” said Ko who spends time relaxing at a house owned by her parents off-season. It was also Jeju where she heralded her comeback with the first win of the season after eleven failed attempts due to her wrist injury in 2017.

Ko is determined to show gradually improving performance as three rounds are left. “I am in a good physical condition as I worked out a lot during a long break, however, my shots are not as good as they should be,” she said. “I will focus on recovering my form.”


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com