Ko Jin-young looks for third major win at U.S. Women's Open

The U.S. Women’s Open tees off Thursday at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, with world No. 1 Ko Jin-young joining the 156-strong field as she looks to claim her third major title.

Ko Jin-young hits a tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club on June 24 in Springfield, New Jersey. [AFP/YONHAP]

The U.S. Women’s Open tees off Thursday at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, with world No. 1 Ko Jin-young joining the 156-strong field as she looks to claim her third major title.

First established in 1946, the Women’s Open is the oldest of the LPGA’s five majors. This is the very first time that Pebble Beach Golf Links will host an LPGA major.

Ko, ranked at No. 1 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, will be competing alongside a fierce field including multiple top-ranked golfers and title winners this season as well as former Korean champions.

A total of 11 Korean golfers have won the Women's Open, with Park Se-ri being the first-ever Korean champion in 1998.

Kim A-lim was the last Korean to win the tournament in 2020, when she was crowned champion by surpassing countrywoman Ko and Amy Olson of the United States by a margin of just one stroke.

Kim and five other former Korean winners — 2019 champion Lee Jeong-eun, 2017 champion Park Sung-hyun, 2015 champion Chun In-gee, 2011 champion Ryu So-yeon and 2009 champion Ji Eun-hee — are all competing this week as they look to join an exclusive multi-winners club.

Park In-bee — a Hall of Famer with 21 LPGA wins — remains the only Korean to have won the event twice, in 2008 and 2013. Park has yet to return to the field since the AIG Women's Open in August 2022. She gave birth to a daughter in April and has not yet announced a return date.

Ko arrives at the Open in good form.

Having won the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March and the Cognizant Founders Cup in May, she reclaimed the No. 1 position and went on to break the record for most weeks at the top spot last month with 159 weeks — now 160 weeks as of Wednesday — surpassing former record holder Lorena Ochoa of Mexico.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize I break the record with Lorena,” Ko said during a pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “I really want to be like Lorena, everything, just personally, playing style, just everything.”

Despite her remarkable performance and record this season, she is still wary of the fact that it is a major.

“Yeah, it’s really hard to focus myself, especially in majors, because a lot of fans out there,” Ko said. “Even me, like around me, I have like over six or seven people. Usually it’s just manager and me and caddie, but this week its coach, manager, from my club agent.

“It’s really hard to focus myself, so I need to focus myself.”

Ko has won two majors in her career, most recently at the Evian Championship in 2019.

The road to her third major will be tough as every other golfer in the top 10 is competing: No. 2 Nelly Korda, No. 3 Lydia Ko, No. 4 Lilia Vu, No. 5 Ruoning Yin, No. 6 Minjee Lee, No. 7 Atthaya Thitikul, No. 8 Kim Hyo-joo, No. 9 Xiyu Lin and No. 10 Leona Maguire.

Vu of the United States and Yin of China are the biggest competitors for Ko, as they have also managed two titles apiece this season.

The two have secured a major each, with Vu taking the first major at the Chevron Championship in April and Yin winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on June 25.

Maguire also won a title at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give on June 18.

The six other golfers have yet to secure a title this season, although all of them have come close to winning a trophy.

Women’s Open defending champion Lee narrowly missed her first title of the season after losing a playoff to Ko Jin-young at the Founders Cup, while Korda finished as a runner-up at the Women’s World Championship where Ko was crowned champion.

Ko still remains the only Korean golfer to have secured a title this season and she will compete alongside 21 countrywomen: An Na-rin, Chella Choi, Choi Hye-jin, Kang Hae-ji, Kim Hyo-joo, Kim Sei-young, Lee Da-yeon, Lee Mi-rim, Lee Jeong-eun6, Park Min-ji, Park Kum-kang, Jenny Shin, Shin Jiyai, Ryu Hae-ran, Amy Yang and the six former Korean champions.

Park Min-ji qualified for the Women’s Open as she sits within the top 75 on the World Rankings, despite not competing on the LPGA Tour.

Park is the winningest golfer on the KLPGA Tour, where she continues to compete, with 18 titles to her name, including two this season.

Park Min-ji hits a shot during the BC Card-Hankyung Ladies Cup at Fortune Hills in Pocheon, Gyeonggi on June 23. [KLPGA]

She is keen to shine on the international stage as she said during an interview with Korean media on June 29 that she wants to come back with no regrets.

“I want to be in the top five and I want to spread my name to a bigger audience at a tournament in the United States” Park said.

Kang paired with Kelly Xu and Lundy Duncan will be the first to tee off on the first hole at 10 a.m.

No. 1 Ko will then tee off alongside No. 2 Korda and Lexi Thompson on the 10th hole at 11:50 a.m., followed by Park Min-ji on the same hole with Chisato Iwai and Tingsuan Huang at 5:13 p.m.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]