Her 16th victory on the LPGA Tour, Ko said she proved to herself she had the ability to make it back inside the winner’s circle.
The newly turned 24-year-old then took on the LA Open, an event on a course she admits she’s never been comfortable at. A 78 on Wednesday at Wilshire Country Club contributed to her first missed cut since the 2020 Women’s Australian Open.
“Good and very bad in the span of two weeks, but you know what, even in L.A. I had a really rough first day but I played solid on the second day,” Ko explained after landing in Singapore after a 17-hour flight from Los Angeles.
“I feel like I’m still coming in with good momentum and winning in Hawaii definitely built the confidence for me to say that, hey, you know, I can be back in the winner’s circle. So great to be in that kind of a position again.
“We all have good days and bad days. My bad day was just on that Wednesday. Obviously, a very quick turnaround that week with us not having access to the golf course on Sunday, and then trying to get in as much work done on Monday and Tuesday with player director duties, we had a board meeting, as well.
“To be honest, I haven’t played well at that golf course before, so it is what it is. Some courses you just play well and some courses you don’t play as well.
“All in all, I still had a great week outside of that one Wednesday, and that one day is not going to ruin my whole week for me. So, yeah, I still had a great time there.
“I think I needed a little bit of rest and recovery leading up to this event, especially with it being pretty warm this week and next.
“I’m feeling good, and I think overall, all of us players are very grateful for the opportunity to come over here.”
