Texas Colony (AP)-Jin Young Ko wanted to design a new trophy for her new house in Texas, and she even picked something for the closet.
She won the American Volunteer Classic Championship on July 4th and therefore won a pair of cowboy boots.
The South Korean star had to work hard for her one-shot victory. Her putter did not meet her standards. Her game doesn’t feel as sharp as it was during Ko’s two-year reign as the women’s world number one.
But it was enough to shoot 69, 2 under par, and beat Finnish Matilda Castren by one shot at the old American Golf Club about 30 minutes away from Ko’s new home. The game ended with 7 strokes.
“I’m thinking these boots are the right size for me,” Ko said. “So yes, I just bought a house, and then I want to get a new trophy because my old trophy is in Korea. But this new one is very special.”
The timing couldn’t be better.
Ko won the championship for the first time this year, and it was a week after she lost the number one position to Nelly Korda, who replaced Ko by winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
In the first five games of the LPGA Tour, Ko failed to enter the top 10 four times. But not far from her home in the Dallas area of the United States, she thrives. She finished her eighth career LPGA victory with a score of 16 under 268. She still ranks second in the world.
“I think I was under a lot of pressure when I was ranked number one,” Gao said. “But I did it this week. I’m very happy.”
With a one-shot lead, Gao caught three birdies in the four-hole opening, expanding his lead. Castellon won her first LPGA Tour championship at Lake Merced three weeks ago. Before turning, she put her in sight with a pair of birdies.
“I don’t think I can win this week because, like Matilda, she played well today and yesterday,” Gao said. “It’s like I want to focus on my game on the court, and then I try not to think about Matilda, her way of playing, the batsman or whatever. It’s tough. But yes, she is a Good player.”
On the 13th hole, Par 5 Castren was in danger of being three shots behind. She had trouble teeing off and was 20 feet away from par, while Ko had a birdie chance of about 12 feet. Castren pushed into the par putt, Ko missed and the lead was still 1.
When Ko’s kick-off was deflected to the right and could not reach the green, the character switched to the next hole with a pitch of 6 feet. Castellon dug a wedge on the green, but she couldn’t convert to a birdie, and Ke kept the par.
The game started on the 15th hole, and Castellon missed a 3-foot pared putt, slammed the putter to the left, two shots behind. She went up and down just a little bit from the par-5 birdie on the 17th hole, and stayed in the game when Ko missed her birdie putt at 6 feet.
Castellon caught a 25-foot birdie from behind the 18th green, but turned to the right, which allowed Ko to score a winning par-par putt from 3 feet away.
“I played with her for the past two days and it was really cool to watch her games,” Castellon said. “She didn’t make many mistakes at all, and recovered well from her not-so-good shots. I can definitely understand why she was able to remain the number one in the world for so long.
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez shot 65, making her the only bogey on the last hole. She finished third alone, two shots behind.
Esther Henseleit of Germany is only two shots away from the game with five holes left. But on the 14th, her car fell under a tree and she had to take a free throw. Then, she launched a 4-foot putt and swallowed a double bogey for the second time in the round, four shots behind.
Henseleit finally shot 72, tied for fourth with Ana Belac (68) and Emma Talley, who had a career-low 63 on the LPGA Tour.
Ko got a lot of support at Old American, and there is a large group of Koreans in the gallery. Ko is one of several Koreans living in the Dallas area.
Her father’s birthday is July 1, and Ko opened the business as a 63-year-old. Her parents live in Old American because it is only a short drive from her new home.
“This is a great week,” Ko said.
