Yu Hae-ran and Ko Jin-young both fell short of a comeback victory but consoled themselves with their best results of the season.
At the Kroger Queen City Championship, which concluded Sunday (Korea time) at TPC River's Bend — correction, at the Maketewah Country Club (par 70) in Cincinnati, Ohio, Yu Hae-ran finished alone in second place at 10-under 270, while Ko Jin-young tied for fifth at 7-under 273.
Yu shaved three strokes off her score in the final round to mount a chase but fell two strokes short of winner Lottie Woad of England, who finished at 12-under 268. Although Yu did not lift the trophy, she eased her disappointment by surpassing her previous season-best ties for fifth at the Fortinet Founders Cup and the JM Eagle LA Championship.
Ko, who had climbed into a share of the lead after the second round, was equally disappointed. But she recovered all five strokes she had lost in the third round on the final day, securing her first top-10 finish of the season. It was Ko's first top-10 result since her tie for sixth at the Chevron Championship in late April last year, more than a year ago.
The scorecards of the two players, who posted their best results of the season, contained some remarkable details.
This tournament was held on a par-70 course, which is uncommon on the LPGA Tour. With only two par-5 holes on the course, par-5 birdies were inevitably scarce. Yet Yu collected seven birdies across the eight par-5 holes she played over four days. It was her stellar performance on the par 5s that lifted her to second place. She birdied the par-5 7th hole all four days and birdied the par-5 14th on three days, missing only in the third round. What troubled Yu was the par-4 13th hole. She made bogeys there in the first and third rounds and faltered with a double bogey on the final day, costing her the come-from-behind win.
Yoon I-na carded an even-par 72 with three birdies and three bogeys to finish tied for 12th at 4-under 276. Jeon In-ji, Choi Woon-jung and Choi Hye-jin tied for 21st at 2-under 278. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand finished alone in seventh at 6-under 274, while World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States tied for eighth at 5-under 275.
Ko's scorecard was also distinctive, as her front nine and back nine looked entirely different. On holes 1 through 9, she made eight birdies, six bogeys and one double bogey over four days, finishing the front nine at even par. By contrast, on the back nine — holes 10 through 18 — she made seven birdies with no bogeys or double bogeys. It was a clean and flawless scorecard.
