The LPGA Tour’s first major of the year,
the ANA Inspiration in California, was won by rising Korean star Jin Young Ko. She
won by three strokes over Mi Hyang Lee to capture her first career major
championship.
Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson
finished level with fellow Canadian Alena Sharp in a four-way tie for 17th.
Brooke currently sits at 22 on the Race to CME Globe standing.
The win is the continuation of a breakout
year by Ko, who has another win and two second-place finishes this year
already.
“I can’t believe—I’m still excited,” Ko
said after the final round. “I mean, I can’t believe it.”
Ko, who was Rookie of the Year in 2018,
worked in the off-season with Canadian short-game coach Gareth Raflewski, who
works on putting and chipping with many of the best players on the LPGA Tour,
including the Jutanugarn sisters, as well as Lydia Ko.
Ko is projected to move to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf
Rankings. The notion of becoming the top-ranked player in the world wasn’t a
concern for Ko. “I’m just try focus on my game on the
course,” she said. “It really doesn’t matter about Rolex World Ranking. I don’t
like numbers like No. 1 or No. 2. I’m just playing on the course.”
Lexi Thompson made a run at Ko, shooting
67 in the final round to fly up the leaderboard. But she was out early, and
finished at 6-under while Ko was still part way through her round. Thompson
finished in third-place.
Next up on the LPGA
Tour schedule is the LOTTE Championship April 17-20 in Hawaii, where last year’s
winner Brooke Henderson looks to defend her title.