Bookending an opening-round 63 with a final-day 66, Jin Young Ko clinched a wire-to-wire victory at the 2021 Cognizant Founders Cup.
Ko finished her final day at Mountain Ridge Country Club (West Caldwell, N.J.) with one bogey offset by six birdies, including four gains in a five-hole stretch on the back nine (Nos. 12, 13, 15, and 16) to seal the deal on 18-under par.
With the win, the Korean joined world No. 1 Nelly Korda as the LPGA’s only three-time winners in 2021.
Ko also tied Annika Sorenstam (2005) and So Yeon Ryu (2016 into 2017) with 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s, and became the fifth player from the Republic of Korea to reach double-digit wins in LPGA Tour history, joining Se Ri Pak (25), Inbee Park (21), Sei Young Kim (12) and Jiyai Shin (11).
“This win is my 10th career win, so this is really special. Two years ago I won this tournament, and I waited since the two years from the original to here,” said Ko.
“I got a lot of the pressure on the course. I knew I’m defending champion and I knew like 60s score beat Annika’s (and So Yeon’s) record and wire to wire, so I had a lot of pressure on the course today.”
Germany’s Caroline Masson carded a season-best 64 to secure solo second-place on 14 under, three clear of Elizabeth Szokol (69) who grabbed the bronze at 11 under.
Rounding out the top-5 finishers were recent U.S. Women’s Open champions Jeongeun Lee6 (67) and Yuka Saso (70) who were T4 on 10 under.
2021 Cognizant Founders Cup: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Jin Young Ko -18 (-5)
2. Caroline Masson -14 (-7)
3. Elizabeth Szokol -11 (-2)
4. Jeongeun Lee6 -10 (-4)
4. Yuka Saso -10 (-1)
