It’s fitting that Jin Young Ko chased history at the Cognizant Founders Cup, an event that celebrates the 13 women who laid the foundation 71 years ago.
Ko’s final-round 66 at the Cognizant Founders Cup marked her 14th consecutive round in the 60s, matching the single-season efforts of Annika Sorenstam in 2005. So Yeon Ryu also had 14 consecutive rounds in the 60s over the course of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Ko, of course, is no stranger to making history. In 2019, she went 114 holes without a bogey, toppling Tiger Woods’ record of 110.
Ko’s sub-70 streak dates back to the final round of the Amundi Evian Championship in July, when she carded a 69. The former No. 1 took a break from the LPGA after the Tokyo Olympics, skipping the AIG Women’s British Open and returning at the Cambia Portland Classic (69-67-69) in September, which she won. The streak continued at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (68-66-67), where she tied for sixth, and the ShopRite LPGA Classic (66-65-69), where she tied for second.
Ko is a staggering 56 under par in her last 14 rounds. She has three victories this season.
Now a 10-time winner on the LPGA, Ko won the 2019 Founders Cup, the last time the event was held in Arizona. (It was canceled last year due to the pandemic.) This week at Mountain Ridge Country Club, Ko shot 63-68-69-66 to go wire-to-wire in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
The 26-year-old South Korean joins Paula Creamer, Shanshan Feng, Brooke Henderson and Mary Lena Faulk in a tie for 54th on the all-time career victory list with 10 titles. She has 66 total starts since joining the tour full-time in 2018.
Caroline Masson shot 31 on the back nine to card a 7-under 64 and finish at 14 under, three shots ahead of Elizabeth Szokol.
Nelly Korda took 35 putts in the final round to shoot 73 and drop to a tie for 19th. She will remain No. 1 in the world.