Ko Jin-young Runner-up... No Ye-rim's First Career Win

Ko Jin-young Shoots Even Par in Founders Cup 4th Round
Falls Short in Bid for Victory After 1 Year and 9 Months
No Ye-rim Celebrates First Win in 111 Tournaments

Ko Jin-young was satisfied with her runner-up finish.

Ko Jin-young is teeing off at the 3rd hole in the 4th round of the Founders Cup. Bradenton=AFP·Yonhap News

On the 9th (local time), at the Founders Cup (total prize money $2 million) of the LPGA Tour held at Bradenton Country Club (par 71, 6,465 yards) in Bradenton, Florida, USA, she failed to reduce her score in the 4th round and remained in second place (17 under par 267). After winning this tournament in May 2023, she challenged for her 16th career victory after 1 year and 9 months but was blocked by Korean-American player No Ye-rim (USA).

Starting in second place, one stroke behind, Ko Jin-young exchanged three birdies for three bogeys. She took birdies on holes 4, 6, and 8, briefly taking the top spot on the leaderboard. However, it was regrettable that she made a bogey on the 13th hole (par 4) after her second shot landed in a bunker. This mistake came after a 95-hole streak without a bogey since the 7th hole of the 3rd round at last week's Tournament of Champions. She also set a record of 114 consecutive holes without a bogey in 2019. After the bogey on the 13th hole, Ko Jin-young lost the lead and then lost another stroke on the 14th hole (par 4). The gap between her and No Ye-rim, who made consecutive birdies on holes 13 and 14, widened to three strokes, and Ko bowed her head.

Noh Ye-rim is teeing off at the 3rd hole of the 4th round of the Founders Cup. Bradenton=AFP·Yonhap News

No Ye-rim, sponsored by Daebang Construction, shot 3 under par to claim her first career victory (21 under par 263). This was her first win in 111 tournaments since debuting on the LPGA Tour in 2020. She received a winner's prize of $300,000 (approximately 430 million KRW). Right after her victory, No Ye-rim exclaimed, "I have worked really hard over the past two years. My ball striking has improved," adding, "This win has given me confidence. I think I will achieve good results going forward."

Megan Kang (USA) finished 3rd (16 under par 268), Lim Jin-hee, Yamashita Miyu (Japan), and Hannah Green (Australia) tied for 4th (13 under par 271), and world No. 1 Nelly Korda (USA) finished tied for 7th (12 under par 272). Lee Jeong-eun 6 and Lee So-mi tied for 13th (9 under par 275).