Photo = AFP
Jessica Corda (30, USA, photo) again won the first tournament of the season, continuing the reputation of being the’Queen of Opening Matches’.
Jessica Corda scored a 5-under-par 66 in the final round of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in the opening game of the LPGA Tour Season held at Four Seasons GC (par 71, 6407 yards) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on the 25th (Korean time) Hit. With a final total of 24 under par and 260 strokes, he set a record for the minimum hitting in his life, and he entered an extended game with Daniel Kang (29), a Korean-American who hit a hit.
The overtime was played on hole 18 (par 3). The expressions of the two players differed according to the result of the tee shot. Corda dropped a tee shot 9m from the hole, and the Daniel River stuck 5.5m next to the pin. Corda’s putt feeling, who hit 60 strokes, called the dream score, was still the same, catching 11 birdies the day before with a fierce play. The situation quickly changed as he calmly succeeded in a long distance buddy putt. The Daniel River collapsed after missing a short putt.
After winning 6 victories in his career in about 3 years since the 2018 Honda LPGA Thailand, Corda won 180,000 dollars (about 200 million won) in the championship prize. He said, “My younger brother (Nelli Corda) who played in the championship group showed a putting break in the second half of the game, which helped us win the game.” Said.
With this victory, Corda continued to be strong in the opening game. This is the third time only to win official opening matches such as ISPS Australia Women’s Open in 2012 and Pure Silk Bahama Classic in 2014. It’s not the opening game, but if you add the 2018 Honda LPGA Thailand, which he made as the season’s first tournament, he won 3 out of his 6 wins in his first tournament.
‘Dumbo’ Jeon In-ji (27) showed unprecedented stable performance on this day and reduced 4 strokes to a final total of 17 under par 267, ranking 4th alone. Jeonji was ranked in the top 4 in 1 year and 3 months after the BMW Ladies Championship held in Busan in October 2019.
Women’s golf legend Anna Sorenstam (51, Sweden), who participated in the invited noun category, ranked 9th with 134 points, showing her rust-free skills. In the invitational noun section, points were given according to the result of each hole (transformed stableford). Mardi Fish (40, USA), a former tennis player, climbed to the top with 158 points.
Reporter Kim Soon-shin [email protected]
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