Loaded up on plenty of Tim Hortons, Jin Young Ko is right in the mix heading into the weekend at the CPKC Women’s Open, carding rounds of 69 and 70 to sit at 5-under and just two back of the lead held by Megan Khang. Her Thursday 69 saw her card two bogeys and five birdies, two sets of which came back-to-back on holes 1 and 2 as well as holes 6 and 7. She nearly did the same on Friday, this time recording two bogeys and four birdies, including two in a three-hole stretch from Nos. 14 to 16. Ko won this event back in 2019 when it was held at Magna Golf Club in Ontario, defeating Nicole Broch Larsen by a whopping five shots with a four-day total of 26-under, and will look to recreate that success over the next 36 holes albeit at a much more challenging Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club.
“I hit a lot of good shot today and I hit 17 greens out of 18 greens. I did some miss putt but was okay. And, condition was good, everything is good, feels good,” said Ko. “(Thursday) was windy so was tricky, but this morning is not much wind. Still fairways and greens are really small, so we need to keep focus on the shot and shot by shot. And green speed is getting more faster, especially this morning.”
This is Ko’s fourth appearance in the CPKC Women’s Open and her 14th start of the 2023 LPGA Tour season. So far this year, she has captured two wins, successfully defending her title at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and winning her third Cognizant Founders Cup in May, and earned three additional top-10 finishes, most notably tying for ninth at The Chevron Championship. However, Ko hasn’t been in contention very much since that victory at Upper Montclair Country Club, missing one cut and not finishing better than T13 in her six starts since earning her 15th Tour title. But the 28-year-old isn’t too fussed about her past stretch of ho-hum golf. She’s instead focused on what’s currently right in front of her: playing 36 more holes in a country that she loves and tracking down her third win of the season.
“If I say I'm feeling good that means I don't care about the future,” said Ko. “I'm really doing well focus shot by shot now, and if I say I'm feeling good, I don't think about future and next shot or whatever.”
And maybe add a Tim Hortons Iced Capp to that list.
“I can drink now, yeah. I need coffee too right now.”
Hey @TimHortons!
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 25, 2023
Jin Young Ko's waiting for your call! pic.twitter.com/rNO6n7ae9i
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