Rookie Choi Hye-jin "Top 10 Again"... Lee Min-ji's "7th Career Win"

Cognizant Founders Cup Final Day: 6-Under Tied 8th, Thompson 2nd, '3-Peat Attempt' Ko Jin-young Tied 17th

Choi Hye-jin is teeing off on the 2nd hole on the final day of the Cognizant Founders Cup. Clifton, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Rookie Choi Hye-jin (23, Lotte) made it into the ‘Top 10’.

On the 16th (Korean time) at the Cognizant Founders Cup (total prize money $3 million) held at Upper Montclair Golf Club in Clifton, New Jersey, USA (par 72, 6,536 yards), she surged with a 6-under-par final round to climb to a tie for 8th place (13-under-par 275 strokes). This marks her fourth ‘Top 10’ finish of the season following a tie for 6th at last month’s DIO Implant LA Open. She added $70,299 to her earnings, ranking 15th in that category with $392,211.

Starting from a tie for 12th place, 10 strokes behind, Choi Hye-jin collected eight birdies (and one double bogey). After a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5), she suffered a critical double bogey on the 3rd hole (par 4), but changed the momentum with ‘stepping stone birdies’ on the 4th and 6th holes. She then fired four consecutive birdies from the 9th to 12th holes and added another birdie on the 14th hole (par 5), securing a spot in the top 10. Her ‘needle-like iron shots’ stood out with an average drive of 264 yards and a greens-in-regulation rate of 94.44%.

Choi Hye-jin is a player who has won a total of 10 titles on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, including two as an amateur. She won Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in 2018, and swept multiple titles in 2019 including wins, earnings, lowest scoring average, and Player of the Year. In 2020, she won Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Although she did not win any titles last year, she passed the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series in December and moved to the U.S. this year. She is currently adapting well, ranking 2nd in the Rookie of the Year points with 408 points.

"It was tough at the beginning of the round," said Choi Hye-jin. "I almost lost my composure after the double bogey on the 3rd hole, but gaining confidence in my putting allowed me to play a bit easier," she evaluated. She added, "The fog delayed the start by about an hour, which gave me plenty of time to practice putting and rest sufficiently. Starting leisurely actually helped a lot."

Im Ji-min is cheering the moment her victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup is confirmed. Clifton, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

Minjee Lee (Australia) added 2-under-par to win by 2 strokes (19-under-par 269 strokes). This is her 7th career win, 10 months after winning the major Evian Championship last July, with a winner’s prize of $450,000 (about 580 million KRW). Lexi Thompson finished 2nd (17-under-par 271 strokes), while Angel Yin (USA) and Madelene Saxstr?m (Sweden) tied for 3rd (16-under-par 272 strokes). No. 1 Ko Jin-young (27), who was aiming for a third consecutive title at this tournament, finished tied for 17th (8-under-par 280 strokes).