Since 2010, the players of the Pays du Matin-Calme have won five of the last ten editions in Evian.
Always cool, sometimes with charisma.
Sweeping away the clichés that present Koreans as cold and emotionless machines, Jin-young Ko, with an elegant swing, had, two years ago, carried his smile all week long on the shores of Lake Geneva.
“She impressed us with her gentleness and her timidity,”
assures Jacques Bungert, vice-president of the tournament.
On the pitch, she showed incredible mental power
.
"
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During a last round disputed in appalling weather conditions, the young woman had indeed been able to keep a cool head, chaining the regulations and digging the strings in the final sprint.
“With this bad weather, I knew how to be patient.
I think my mind has been strong.
I was perfect, ”
she smiled in English that she masters perfectly, unlike some of her compatriots in the past.
Ceremony codes
On the other hand, she had not assimilated the codes of the ceremony in honor of the winner:
"
The flag that goes down is a signature of the Amundi Évian Championship, she wondered what we were looking at. top
remembers Franck Riboud, the tournament president, amused
.
And, when we gave the traditional kiss to the winner with Jacques
(Bungert), she
was at first petrified, then had a great burst of laughter when she understood that there was nothing to fear.
"
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By winning her first Évian Championship and pocketing a check for 550,000 euros, Jin-young Ko had once again become the queen of golf in front of her compatriot Sung-hyun Park.
On April 9, 2019, Ko had already acceded to the throne for the first time.
An ANA Inspiration winner in April that year, she was the first since 2015 and her compatriot Inbee Park to win more than one Major in the same season.
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“When I won the ANA, I cried a lot.
So, in Evian, I tried to smile, but when I heard the national anthem, I couldn't hold back my tears.
»
Consistency monster, she has made 60 cuts in her 62 tournaments played on the LPGA Tour since 2018!
She had done even better than a certain Tiger Woods by setting a record with 114 holes played without conceding a single bogey.
Vertiginous.
A young girl in a hurry
To date, it has recorded 8 successes on the American circuit, including 2 Majors (the ANA Inspiration and the Evian Championship), 11 on the KLPGA (the Korean circuit).
After starting golf at the age of 7, the young Jin-young quickly rose through the ranks.
As a young girl in a hurry.
Turned pro in 2013, she finished second in the British Open 2015 at the age of 20.
Rookie of the year on the American circuit in 2018, she has since fluctuated between first and second in the world.
The coronavirus pandemic has not dampened the irresistible momentum of the 26-year-old.
Well almost.
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Due to health restrictions, Ko only played four tournaments in the United States in 2020, preferring six times to appear at the start of the Korean LPGA events. That didn't stop her from finishing the year number 1 on the American Tour's season winning list by winning a tournament (CME Group Tour Championship) and finishing second in the US Open, her only Major played in the last season. After briefly losing her crown, dethroned by Nelly Korda in early July, she regained victory three weeks ago at the WPGA Championship. With elegance and, always, a smile always on the lips.
