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| Nelly Coda is shooting in the final 4th round of Gainbridge LPGA on the 1st (Korean time). © AFP=News1 |
In the 2021 U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour season, the U.S. is on the rise with two wins first.
Nelly Coda (USA) won the final total of 16 under par 272 strokes at the Gainbridge LPGA (total prize pool of $2 million), which ended at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club (par 72, 6701 yards) in Orlando, Florida, USA on the 1st (Korean time). Accounted for. Winning the 4th LPGA Tour in his personal career.
With two competitions in the 2021 season, American players are showing strength. In particular, the performance of Sister Koda stands out.
In the Diamond Resort Tournament of Champions, which was the opening game of the season in January, Nelly Coda’s sister, Jessica Coda, was on the top. And in this competition, my younger brother Nelly Coda won. It is the first time that the sisters have won the LPGA Tour in a row since March 2000, Sisters Anika-Shalotta Sorenstam won the Welches Circle K Championship and Standard Register Ping.
American players struggled with the strength of Korean players on the recent LPGA tour. Last year, Korean players won 7 and US players 6 wins, with Korean players winning the most. 2018 was the last time the U.S. teamed up with the most wins, and at that time it was also tied with Korea with 9 wins.
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| Jeon Inji is shooting a shot in the final 4th round of Gainbridge LPGA on the 1st (Korean time). © AFP=News1 |
While the performance of the American players is drawing attention, the physical condition of the Korean players is gradually rising.
There were not many Korean players in the opening game. However, Jeon Inchi (27, KB Financial Group) escaped from a long sluggishness and climbed to fourth place alone by competing for the championship. It was the top 5 in about 1 year and 3 months after the BMW Ladies Championship in October 2019.
From this Gainbridge LPGA, the world ranking first place Ko Jin-young (26, Solaire) and second place Kim Se-young (28, Mirae Asset) participated in the hunt for the championship. Ko Jin-young rose to fourth place alone from the season’s first contest, and Kim Se-young also raised his performance to a tie for 24th.
In addition, Jeon In-Jin succeeded in entering the top 10 for two consecutive competitions with a tie for 8th place with Choi Woon-jung (31, Volvic) and Shin Ji-eun (29, Hanwha), and continued on the rise. The expectations of Korean players’ first win of the season are rising.
In March, Inbi Park (33, KB Financial Group) is also expected to join the LPGA tour to empower Korean players. Park Inbi plans to start the 2021 season through the KIA Classic (March 25-28), which is held before the season’s first major tournament, ANA Inspiration (April 1-4). Park Inbi is aiming to win 21 LPGA tour careers this year and participate in the Tokyo Olympics.