'Breaking Out of Slump' Ko Jin-young... "Marching Toward 2 Consecutive Wins in Arizona"

Declaration to Win Second Season Victory at DriveOn Championship

World No. 3 Ko Jin-young is on a two-win streak.

On the 23rd (local time), Ko Jin-young aims for victory at the LPGA Tour Drive On Championship (total prize money $1.75 million) held at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,526 yards) in Gold Canyon, Arizona, USA. This is the first full-field 72-hole tournament of the year. The LPGA Tour has changed the 'tournament cut-off' criteria. Starting from this tournament, only the top 65 players after 36 holes will advance to the final rounds, instead of the top 70.

Ko Jin-young challenges for her second consecutive win at the Drive On Championship.

Ko Jin-young struggled with wrist injuries and other issues since the Evian Championship major in July last year. She participated in five tournaments but missed the cut three times and withdrew once, showing poor performance. She also lost her firm grip on the world No. 1 ranking. However, Ko made a perfect comeback by winning her second consecutive title at the HSBC Women's World Championship on the 5th. This marked her 14th career victory after a year and ended Korea's 18 consecutive tournaments without a win.

Ko Jin-young is aiming for her second win of the season at the Drive On Championship. After winning the HSBC Women's World Championship, she returned to Korea to focus on training. She checked her swing with coach Lee Si-woo at Suwon CC driving range in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Then she flew to Dallas, Texas, to assess her condition before moving to the battleground in Arizona. Above all, her perfectly revived iron shots are welcome. Ko said, "I want to share more good news this year."

World No. 2 Nelly Korda (USA) is a strong favorite for the title. She is clearly on the rise, having finished second at the HSBC Women's World Championship. Danielle Kang (USA) is also a dark horse. She tied for third at the HSBC Women's World Championship and was runner-up at the Ladies European Tour (LET) Aramco Team Series Singapore event that ended on the 17th. Other contenders include Brooke Henderson (Canada), winner of the season opener Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and Lilia Vu (USA), champion of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Leona Maguire (Ireland) is defending her title.

Korea's Yu Hae-ran, who topped last year's LPGA Qualifying (Q) Series, will make her debut. She is determined to show 'rookie power' from her first tournament. Lee Jeong-eun6 also dreams of a turnaround. Since her first career win at the 2019 US Women's Open, she has not won any titles. She performed well last year, finishing tied for 9th in this tournament. Other Korean players in the field include Jeon In-ji, Choi Hye-jin, Kim Se-young, Park Sung-hyun, Yoo So-yeon, Ji Eun-hee, and Yang Hee-young.