In a strange year, the 2020 LPGA season wrapped up only five days before Christmas with the CME Group Tour Championship from Naples, Florida. This is an event that normally takes place in November, however, due to the fact the U.S. Women’s Open took place in December instead of the summer, the Tour Championship was moved a month later.
For the fourth time, a South Korean won the Tour Championship. On Sunday, Jin-Young Ko shot a four-round score of -18 to beat Australia’s Hannah Green, and South Korea’s Sei Young Kim by five strokes each. Ko had a first-round score of four-under-par 68, a second-round score of five-under-par 67, a third-round score of three-under-par 69, and a fourth-round score of six-under-par 66. Ko was the only player in the tournament to be in the 60s for every round.
With the win, Ko won $1.1 million. The CME Group Tour Championship awards the largest prize to the winner in all events on the LPGA Tour. The winner receives $100, 000 more than the winner of the U.S. Women’s Open.
This was Ko’s seventh career title on the LPGA Tour. She previously won the 2017 LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship in Ko’s home country of South Korea, the 2018 ISPS Handa Australian Women’s Open, the 2019 Bank of Hope Founders Cup from Phoenix, the 2019 ANA Inspiration from southern California, the 2019 Evian Championship from France, and the 2019 Canadian Women’s Open from Aurora, Ontario. Interestingly, Ko has now won LPGA events in five different countries.
Ko, who is number one in the Rolex World Rankings, follows three other prior South Korean LPGA Tour Championship winners. Hee-young Park won in 2011, Na-yeon Choi won in 2012, and Sei-young Kim won in 2019. The 2020 Masters champion, Dustin Johnson of the United States, who is number one in the world in men’s golf, won the 2020 PGA Tour Championship in September in Atlanta.
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