World No 1 Ko Jin-young will seek to bounce back from a disappointing performance in the Chevron Championship last month when she returns to LPGA action at the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“I didn’t play well in the Chevron so I need to fix something to do my swing, so I practised hard,” said the South Korean star, who finished tied for 53rd in the first Major championship of the year in Rancho Mirage, California.
It was her worst LPGA result since a tie for 60th at the 2021 Evian Championship. And it was especially disappointing since she won her first Major title at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, which was hosting the prestigious tournament for the last time.
But Ko said this week that work on her swing was paying off.
“My driver distance wasn’t far in the Chevron, so I practise more downswing to the ground to, like, push the ground and then get the power from the ground.”
She will hope the adjustments hold up as she returns to the LA Open, where she has finished in the top five every year since the tournament began in 2018.
That includes a share of second in 2018, a tie for fifth in 2019 and a tie for third last year.
Brooke Henderson is the defending champion, and the Canadian will tee it up in search of a second straight title despite withdrawing midway through last week’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii with an unspecified illness.
Henderson (24) has yet to win this year but her worst finish in six starts is a share of 13th at the Chevron Championship.
She has four finishes in the top six and last year at Wilshire Country Club set a 72-hole tournament scoring record of 16 under 268 en route to her 10th LPGA title ahead of Jessica Korda.
© Agence France-Presse
