Jin Young Ko wins Cognizant Founders Cup in Playoff against Lee
Jin Young Ko was named the winner of the LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup this past weekend. Ko has taken her third victory in the tournament in the past five years, this time in a playoff against defending champ Minjee Lee.
The 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup spanned the Mother’s Day weekend. The event felt awfully fitting as the LPGA set out to make 2023 the year of women’s golf, showcasing how important and inclusive this space is for women in the sport.
The tournament was thrilling and highly competitive, showcasing the immense talent and skill of some of the world's top female golfers. Played on a picturesque course at the Upper Montclair Country Club in New Jersey, the event provided a platform for golfers to display their prowess and compete for the coveted title.
In the end, Jin Young Ko was crowned the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup winner. Throughout the competition, Ko demonstrated a blend of technical excellence, restraint, and undivided attention. She won the respect of both spectators and other rivals thanks to her steady play and ability to make clutch shots when it mattered most. Ko's triumph demonstrated her extraordinary talent and solidified her place among the top golfers of her generation.
While Ko came out on top, it is important to realize the strength of her competitors, especially those of Minjee Lee, who won the tournament last year. The two tied at the end of play, making it time for the two pros to engage in a playoff to determine a winner, where they went back to the par 4 No. 18.
Both golfers were at an even playing field after their second shots, making it to the green. Ko came out on top after Lee missed her par-saving shot that could have won her the tournament.
Ko becomes just the second golfer to have won multiple events on the tour this year, and the first golfer to have won the Cognizant Founders Cup multiple times, having won the title in 2019 and 2021.
This win comes with the next stop on the LPGA Tour rapidly approaching. The tour will see the Mizuho Americas Open at the Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, which will open on June 1st, with its conclusion on the 4th.