Jin young ko won (-14) Sunday after leading the Australian race from start to finish, French side alone Karine Icher saves the furniture finishing 30e                                                                                                           

Jin Young Ko - Photo: ISPS Handa @ISPSGolf

ADELAIDE, South Australia - South Korean rookie Jin Young Ko won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. The LPGA's pipeline of talented new hires is seemingly endless. A year after Sung Hyun Park equaled Nancy Lopez in becoming the season's only rookie and Rolex player of the year in the same season, Jin Young Ko debuts in 2018 as if she wanted to make this elite duo. a trio.

With her three-stroke victory over Hyejin Choi on Sunday at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open, the 22-year-old South Korean rookie became the first player in 67 years to win her first tournament as a member of the LPGA. in the history of the circuit to match the feat won by Beverley Hanson in 1951.

Ko, who won her invitation to play on the LPGA Tour when she won the KEB Hana Bank Championship last October. The South Korean player was impressive, dominating the game from start to finish on the fairways of Kooyonga. She started her final round on Sunday four strokes ahead of Hannah Green and won with a 69 that left her 14 under par for a total score of 274.

Choi was at 277 with Green at 278 and Katherine Kirk at 279 after a ferocity of 65 in the final round. Minjee Lee, Charley Hull, Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, Emma Talley, So Yeon Ryu, Georgia Hall, another Rookie of the Year, and Lydia Ko all finished in the top 20.

Jin Young Ko, with nine victories over the KLPGA, had distinguished herself finishing second at the Ricoh Women's British Open 2015 behind Inbee Park in Turnberry after losing a three-stroke lead over the last nine holes. It seems that this painful experience was more of a stepping stone than a stumbling block for her as she won three victories over the KLPGA in 2016 and 2017.

Ko showed her resilience to Turnberry by employing a caddy she only encountered the day before the tournament started and quickly adapting to links, which she had never played before. In Australia, she again demonstrated her mentality which is one of the strengths of her game, showing no signs of pressure on her LPGA debut.

“I focused on my game and I think my shots and face-offs were keys,” she said of her solid game at Kooyonga. “This course is narrow, then there's the green, so I'm just thinking of the greens trying to put two putts,” she said of her strategy for the final round.

See the final ranking: