[2020 LPGA Tour Weather Forecast] Korea "Olympic 2 Consecutive Wins GO~"

Intense Battle for 4 Tokyo Tickets, Ko Jin-young Defends 'Number 1' Title, Park In-bi Breaks 'Nine-Year Curse' in Spotlight

Ko Jin-young will defend her 'Number 1' position on the 2020 LPGA Tour.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] "Achieve back-to-back Olympic victories."

This is the 2020 mission for the Thai ladies' team. In the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in Brazil, Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) secured a commanding victory by 5 strokes. It added special significance as the women's golf gold medal was officially included as an event for the first time in 116 years since the 1900 Paris Olympics in France. This time, 'Number 1' Ko Jin-young (25, HiteJinro), along with Park Sung-hyun (27), Kim Sei-young (27, Mirae Asset), Lee Jeong-eun 6 (24, Daebang Construction), and Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte) are dreaming of medals.

▲ "Go Jin-young GO~"= She had the best year in 2019. Including two major wins, she swept up 4 victories, topping the LPGA Tour money rankings and scoring average, and winning Player of the Year and other major individual titles. As of the 6th, she has held the world No. 1 ranking for 23 consecutive weeks, solidifying her position as 'Number 1' and evolving into a flawless player. Her 'pinpoint iron shots' with the highest greens in regulation rate remain sharp, and she has added clutch putting skills.

If she had not encountered injury variables late last season, she could have set even more records. This is why the outlook that "Ko Jin-young's era will continue this year" is dominant. She is currently focusing on rehabilitation. Ko Jin-young especially desires the historic achievement of winning Player of the Year two consecutive times for the first time in 9 years since Tseng Yani (Taiwan) in 2011. It is the first challenge for a Korean player. She will leave for San Diego, USA, later this month to begin full-scale training.

Park In-bee aims for her 20th career win and a consecutive Olympic gold medal.

▲ "Park In-bee, overcome the curse of nine"= Last year, she only entered the 'Top 10' six times in 17 tournaments, falling short of expectations. Above all, it has been painful that she has struggled without a title since achieving her 19th LPGA Tour win at the Founders Cup in March 2018. Early in the season, it is urgent to shake off the curse of nine and reach the 20-win milestone. For back-to-back Olympic victories, she adopted new clubs early and declared the 'resurrection of the golf queen.'

Last month, she went to Las Vegas, USA, for preseason training, starting the season earlier than usual. The strategy is to increase driving distance through physical conditioning and then refine her main weapons, putting and irons. A grueling schedule awaits, as she plans to participate in 4 of the first 5 tournaments, including the season opener Diamond Resorts Tournament on the 16th in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the Big Open, the Australian Women's Open, and the HSBC Women's event.

Whether Ariya Jutanugarn will make a comeback in the 2020 season is a topic of interest.

▲ "The comeback of the strong"= Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) dominated the LPGA Tour over the past three years with 5 wins in 2016, 2 wins in 2017, and 3 wins in 2018. She won Player of the Year awards in 2016 and 2018, earning great acclaim. She was known as the 'Park Se-ri of Thailand.' However, last season she played in 29 tournaments without a win, dropping to 11th in the money rankings and bruising her pride. Her powerful long drives remained, but her irons faltered significantly. She is sweating it out to regain her former glory.

Lydia Ko (New Zealand) is also enduring hardships. She became the youngest winner at the 2012 Canadian Women's Open (15 years 4 months) and the youngest major champion at the 2015 Evian Championship (18 years 4 months). Known as a 'golf prodigy,' her presence faded after winning the Mediheal Championship in April 2018. Players such as Yoo So-yeon (30, Mediheal), Jeon In-ji (26), Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer (all USA), and Feng Shanshan (China) are also working to restore their pride.