ANA Inspiration - R4

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Maiden major title for Ko
Posted on
April 8, 2019
by
The Editorial Team in , ,
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

April 04-07
Mission Hills CC, Dinah Shore Course, Rancho Mirage, California
$3,000,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3


Korean Jin Young Ko posted a gutsy two-under-par in the final round of the ANA Inspiration to claim her maiden major title and with it become the new world number one.

Maiden major title for Ko, ©


The 23-year-old started the day a shot ahead and was never caught, her 10-under-par total ultimately proving just out of reach of her compatriot Mi Hyung Lee, whose 70 left her three strokes back.

Ko was cruising at one under par through 11 holes, but bogeys at the 13th and 15th threatened to derail her title bid. A superb birdie from five feet at the 16th – the hardest hole on the course – restored her cushion, and a birdie at the par-five 18th put the gloss on a superb victory.

“I still can’t believe it. I had a great round and a great week,” said Ko, who has not finished outside the top three in her last four events and is projected to rise to the top of the Rolex Women’s World Rankings on Monday.

“My grandfather died a year ago and he was in my thoughts on the 18th green when I stood over the birdie putt. I dedicate this win to him. I miss him a lot.

“I felt nervous today but I just tried to keep myself calm. My caddie told me on the 18th that I had a two-shot lead and to not worry, just enjoy it. So many Korean players had a great tournament, it’s a real honour for me to win.”


Lee had the ideal start with birdies at the first and second, but when she needed to put Ko under pressure, she could only muster one birdie on the back nine.

The 26-year-old said: “I didn’t look at leaderboards and I didn't even know until last hole. I asked my caddie if I needed to make birdie or eagle, and he said ‘Oh, just focus on your golf’.

“This is my best finish in major, and we have four more majors this year, so this is really good momentum and I'm so happy with this week.

“There were a lot of cameras and people cheering and watching me on back nine, but I still managed to control myself. I think my mental game is better than before and I am more confident.”

Lexi Thompson had a putt for eagle at the last but had to settle for a par to close out a 67, leaving the popular American in third place, one shot behind Lee.

“I knew I needed to have a low round to have any sort of chance today,” said the 24-year-old.

“Before I even stepped foot out on the golf course I was texting my caddie, Benji, and we said we had to just fire at every pin. We have to make birdies and not play away from any pins. We were like, ‘Let's just go for the lowest score we possibly can’.”

Player Notes

Rolex Rankings No. 5 Jin Young Ko (69-71-68-70)

  • Ko is the first multiple winner of the 2019 LPGA Tour season
  • She is the fifth player from the Republic of Korea to win the ANA Inspiration, joining Grace Park (2004), Sun Young Yoo (2012), Inbee Park (2013) and So Yeon Ryu (2017)
  • She is the 17th player to win her first major at the ANA Inspiration
  • She is the 15th player from the Republic of Korea to win a major, the most of any country other than the United States
  • She is the 156th player in LPGA Tour history to break the $2 million earnings threshold; she is projected to jump from 175th to 149th on the Career Money List
  • Her caddie, David Brooker, was the caddie for ANA Inspiration winners Grace Park (2004) and Lorena Ochoa (2008)
  • Ko’s 72-hole score of 278 is her career-best score at the ANA Inspiration; her previous best was 290 in 2018
  • She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 30 putts
  • Ko is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; she won the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in her Membership debut and won the 2017 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship as a non-Member
  • This is Ko’s sixth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; she won the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, finished second at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and tied for third at the HSBC Women’s World Championship
  • She is competing in her fourth ANA Inspiration; her best finish is T64 in 2018
  • Ko won the 2018 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors, an award she clinched with four events remaining in the season

Rolex Rankings No. 54 Mi Hyang Lee (70-73-68-70)

  • Lee’s 72-hole score of 8-under 281 is her career-best score at the ANA Inspiration; her previous best was 283 in 2018
  • She hit six of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
  • Lee is in her eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has two career victories, most recently the 2017 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
  • This is Lee’s seventh event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T10 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
  • She is competing in her sixth ANA Inspiration; her best finish is a tie for eighth in 2015, with missed cuts the last two consecutive years
  • Lee spent 2012 on both the LPGA and Symetra Tours; on the Symetra Tour, she earned Gaelle Truett Rookie of the Year honors thanks to a season that included a win at the Symetra Classic

Rolex Rankings No. 9 Lexi Thompson (69-72-74-67)

  • Thompson’s fourth-round 67 is tied for her third-best round at the ANA Inspiration; she shot a 64 in the second round of her win in 2014 and a 67 in the second and fourth rounds in 2017
  • She hit eight of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 25 putts
  • Thompson is in her eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she has 10 victories, including a major win at the 2014 ANA Inspiration
  • This is Thompson’s fifth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T10 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
  • She is competing in her 10th ANA Inspiration; she won the tournament in 2014, finished second in a playoff in 2017, has two other top-10 finishes and has never missed the cut
  • Thompson won the 2017 Vare Trophy for the season’s low scoring average and also captured that year’s Race to the CME Globe
  • She has won an event in each of the past six LPGA Tour seasons, the longest active streak on Tour
  • She represented the USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she finished T19, and is a three-time member of the USA Solheim Cup and UL International Crown Teams

Race to the CME Globe

With her win, Ko earns 625 points and is projected to remain first in the Race to the CME Globe with 1,957 points. 

Rolex Annika Major award

With her win, Ko earns 60 points and becomes eligible to win the award at the end of the season. 

CME Group Cares Challenge – Score 1 for St. Jude

The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group will donate $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2019, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Mi Hyang Lee had an ace this week at the 2019 ANA Inspiration. There have been seven made prior to the week and a total of $160,000 has been donated thus far in 2019.

Leaders Top 10 Competition

The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the event held immediately prior to the CME Group Tour Championship. In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.

With her win at the ANA Inspiration, Jin Young Ko joins Nelly Korda at the top of the competition with five top-10 finishes each. In second with four top-10 finishes are Azahara Munoz and Hyo Joo Kim


Pos.
Player
Scores
To Par
Total
Prize Money
1
Jin Young Ko
69 - 71 - 68 - 70
-10
278
$450,000
2
Mi Hyang Lee
70 - 73 - 68 - 70
-7
281
$275,721
3
Lexi Thompson
69 - 72 - 74 - 67
-6
282
$200,016
T4
Carlota Ciganda
72 - 72 - 71 - 68
-5
283
$139,634
T4
In-Kyung Kim
71 - 65 - 73 - 74
-5
283
$139,634
T6
Kristen Gillman
74 - 71 - 73 - 66
-4
284
$74,472
T6
Hyo Joo Kim
69 - 76 - 70 - 69
-4
284
$74,472
T6
Jessica Korda
70 - 73 - 71 - 70
-4
284
$74,472
T6
Ally McDonald
68 - 72 - 74 - 70
-4
284
$74,472
T6
Jeongeun Lee6
71 - 71 - 71 - 71
-4
284
$74,472
T6
Danielle Kang
72 - 69 - 70 - 73
-4
284
$74,472
T12
Moriya Jutanugarn
74 - 73 - 71 - 67
-3
285
$46,795
T12
Jaye Marie Green
74 - 71 - 72 - 68
-3
285
$46,795
T12
Jenny Shin
72 - 71 - 72 - 70
-3
285
$46,795
T12
Charley Hull
72 - 69 - 74 - 70
-3
285
$46,795
T12
Jing Yan
70 - 71 - 74 - 70
-3
285
$46,795
T17
Lizette Salas
70 - 73 - 73 - 70
-2
286
$36,833
T17
Brooke M. Henderson
71 - 72 - 71 - 72
-2
286
$36,833
T17
Alena Sharp
76 - 70 - 67 - 73
-2
286
$36,833
T17
Katherine Kirk
71 - 68 - 74 - 73
-2
286
$36,833
T21
Jiyai Shin
75 - 74 - 69 - 69
-1
287
$31,127
T21
Minjee Lee
73 - 74 - 69 - 71
-1
287
$31,127
T21
Yu Liu
73 - 73 - 70 - 71
-1
287
$31,127
T21
Anna Nordqvist
73 - 71 - 72 - 71
-1
287
$31,127
T21
Mo Martin
71 - 73 - 71 - 72
-1
287
$31,127
T26
Pornanong Phatlum
77 - 71 - 72 - 68
E
288
$24,266
T26
Patty Tavatanakit (a)
75 - 73 - 72 - 68
E
288
$0
T26
Eun-Hee Ji
72 - 73 - 74 - 69
E
288
$24,266
T26
Jennifer Song
73 - 71 - 74 - 70
E
288
$24,266
T26
Megan Khang
71 - 75 - 71 - 71
E
288
$24,266
T26
Linnea Strom
69 - 76 - 72 - 71
E
288
$24,266
T26
Ayako Uehara
75 - 72 - 68 - 73
E
288
$24,266
T26
Amy Yang
70 - 72 - 73 - 73
E
288
$24,266
T26
Stacy Lewis
71 - 73 - 70 - 74
E
288
$24,266
T35
Jacqui Concolino
74 - 75 - 69 - 71
1
289
$18,945
T35
Chella Choi
72 - 73 - 73 - 71
1
289
$18,945
T35
Gaby Lopez
71 - 74 - 72 - 72
1
289
$18,945
T35
Xiyu Lin
70 - 74 - 70 - 75
1
289
$18,945
T39
So Yeon Ryu
75 - 74 - 73 - 68
2
290
$15,730
T39
Jodi Ewart Shadoff
73 - 70 - 77 - 70
2
290
$15,730
T39
Sakura Yokomine
76 - 73 - 69 - 72
2
290
$15,730
T39
Nasa Hataoka
73 - 72 - 73 - 72
2
290
$15,730
T39
Angel Yin
71 - 74 - 69 - 76
2
290
$15,730
T44
Mi Jung Hur
72 - 75 - 75 - 69
3
291
$12,170
T44
Brittany Altomare
76 - 71 - 73 - 71
3
291
$12,170
T44
Morgan Pressel
76 - 70 - 73 - 72
3
291
$12,170
T44
Lydia Ko
70 - 75 - 74 - 72
3
291
$12,170
T44
Ryann O'Toole
73 - 74 - 71 - 73
3
291
$12,170
T44
Lauren Stephenson
70 - 74 - 73 - 74
3
291
$12,170
T44
Sandra Gal
74 - 73 - 69 - 75
3
291
$12,170
T44
Alison Lee
71 - 72 - 72 - 76
3
291
$12,170
T52
Nelly Korda
74 - 75 - 74 - 69
4
292
$9,057
T52
Cristie Kerr
70 - 78 - 74 - 70
4
292
$9,057
T52
Haeji Kang
74 - 75 - 72 - 71
4
292
$9,057
T52
Amy Olson
76 - 71 - 74 - 71
4
292
$9,057
T52
Caroline Masson
73 - 74 - 73 - 72
4
292
$9,057
T52
Madelene Sagstrom
72 - 75 - 71 - 74
4
292
$9,057
T52
Hee Young Park
71 - 74 - 72 - 75
4
292
$9,057
T52
Brittany Lincicome
75 - 69 - 71 - 77
4
292
$9,057
T52
Sung Hyun Park
71 - 70 - 73 - 78
4
292
$9,057
T61
Jane Park
70 - 79 - 78 - 66
5
293
$7,246
T61
Wei-Ling Hsu
73 - 76 - 71 - 73
5
293
$7,246
T61
Mariajo Uribe
72 - 74 - 74 - 73
5
293
$7,246
T61
Ariya Jutanugarn
75 - 70 - 75 - 73
5
293
$7,246
T61
Georgia Hall
74 - 70 - 76 - 73
5
293
$7,246
T66
Nanna Koerstz Madsen
74 - 75 - 75 - 70
6
294
$6,792
T66
Albane Valenzuela (a)
75 - 72 - 74 - 73
6
294
$0
T68
Azahara Munoz
72 - 77 - 76 - 70
7
295
$6,491
T68
Marissa Steen
72 - 75 - 77 - 71
7
295
$6,491
T68
Inbee Park
73 - 72 - 76 - 74
7
295
$6,491
T71
Marina Alex
75 - 71 - 76 - 74
8
296
$6,114
T71
Austin Ernst
71 - 78 - 72 - 75
8
296
$6,114
73
Beatriz Recari
72 - 74 - 76 - 76
10
298
$5,964
74
Sarah Jane Smith
74 - 75 - 76 - 76
13
301
$5,886
T75
Ashleigh Buhai
73 - 76 - 82 - 73
16
304
$5,774
T75
Sarah Schmelzel
76 - 73 - 79 - 76
16
304
$5,774
77
Mariah Stackhouse
75 - 74 - 79 - 79
19
307
$5,667
CUT
Maria Torres
6
74
76
CUT
Emma Talley
6
75
75
CUT
Lindy Duncan
6
77
73
CUT
Haru Nomura
6
77
73
CUT
Jasmine Suwannapura
7
73
78
CUT
Gerina Piller
7
74
77
CUT
Aditi Ashok
7
75
76
CUT
Mamiko Higa
7
75
76
CUT
In Gee Chun
7
76
75
CUT
Michelle Wie
7
77
74
CUT
Pernilla Lindberg
7
78
73
CUT
Angela Stanford
8
74
78
CUT
Celine Boutier
8
75
77
CUT
Juli Inkster
8
75
77
CUT
Frida Kinhult (a)
9
73
80
CUT
Shanshan Feng
9
74
79
CUT
Brittany Lang
9
75
78
CUT
Bronte Law
9
75
78
CUT
Jeong Eun Lee
9
76
77
CUT
Anne van Dam
9
76
77
CUT
Peiyun Chien
9
79
74
CUT
Mirim Lee
9
81
72
CUT
Annie Park
10
78
76
CUT
Hannah Green
11
75
80
CUT
Sei Young Kim
11
77
78
CUT
Sarah Kemp
11
79
76
CUT
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras
12
72
84
CUT
Rachel Heck (a)
12
77
79
CUT
Kim Kaufman
12
80
76
CUT
Laura Gonzalez Escallon
12
81
75
CUT
Charlotte Thomas
13
78
79
CUT
Karrie Webb
13
79
78
CUT
Su Oh
13
80
77
CUT
Yani Tseng
14
80
78
CUT
Xin Kou (a)
24
86
82
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