CME Group Tour Championship: Jin Young Ko's start leaves rest of field behind

Jin Young Ko came out and hit the accelerator, leaving the top players on the LPGA Tour in her dust Sunday.

Ko and Nelly Korda came in battling for Rolex Player of the Year, with Korda holding the edge and Ko needing to finish at least second. That battle went by the wayside quickly as Ko birdied six of her first nine holes.

Nasa Hataoka tried to keep up, and did stay in Ko's rear-view mirror. In the end, it wasn't a photo finish, but Ko did just enough to win every major award she could in the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

"I mean, we knew we had someone to chase, and Jin Young looked like she got it started pretty early, so it definitely motivated us," said Megan Khang, who shot a 6-under 66 to tie for fifth at 17 under, six behind Ko. "It's hard not to notice. There are so many scoreboards out there. I don't know how many holes they were behind us, maybe two or three holes behind us, and, I mean, pretty sure she birdied right off the bat. It's always great when you start off with a birdie.

"I knew what I had to do to try to put a low number out there. And, again, it was nice to just have that like push me to play better."

Hataoka birdied No. 18 to finish at 22 under, one behind Ko. Ko eliminated any drama by matching Hataoka's birdie on the par-5 17th to go into the final hole with a two-shot lead, then hitting safely into the fairway and onto the green, leaving an easy two-putt.

"Today was obviously final pairing; a little bit of pressure with that. But I feel like I played my own golf, so I'm really satisfied with that," Hataoka said through a translator. "I have one thing in my mind, routine. There were few times where there was a lot of pressure, but I was able to think simple, which helped me a lot today."

What Ko was doing was anything but routine, especially hitting so many consecutive greens in regulation. She didn't miss a green after No. 9 in Thursday's first round.

"That's a pretty amazing stat," said Minjee Lee, who made an eagle on No. 17 and finished tied for fifth with Khang and Korda. "She's an amazing ball-striker and player overall. That's why she's at the top of the leaderboard again."

Gaby Lopez started the day a stroke behind leaders Ko, Korda, Hataoka, and Celine Boutier, but didn't get off to a good start. She enjoyed the finish of her day, though, dousing Ko on the 18th green for the second straight year, along with player Amy Olson and the daughter of Ko's caddie.

"Jin Young is unreal," said Lopez, who had five birdies on the back nine to shoot a 70 and tie for ninth at 15 under. "She's one of my greatest friends out here on tour. what she's done for the game, what she's done for me — she's taught me a couple of things. I'm going to be forever grateful for her friendship.

"Just to come out on fire it takes a lot of toughness mentally to be that consistent over every single shot. I'm getting there at own pace, but I'll be there."

Boutier set the 36-hole tournament scoring record at 14 under and had a four-stroke lead going into the weekend before Ko and others caught her in the third round. She eagled No. 17 to move up into a tie for third at 18 under.

"I feel like it's one of the strongest fields that we have," Boutier said. "It's kind of like our sixth major really. So I feel like coming ahead of this week, I mean, Top 3 is obviously good result and really positive."

Mina Harigae continued her resurgence, shooting a 5-under 67 to tie for third with Boutier.

"It's almost a perfect way to end the season," Harigae said. "I mean, winning would've been great, but there were some like spectacular golf played by everyone here.

"So it's a great way to end the season for me."

And the Jordan shoe aficionado can use her $268,657 to do some online shopping for some for her and her fiancé, caddie Travis Kreiter. Both have quite the collection."I don't know exactly how much I made, but I think I deserve like a pair or two," she said with a chuckle. "A nice pair or two."

Q. When did you see what Jin Young was doing?

Q. Lexi, four rounds in the 60s again here at Tiburon, a place that you just love. How would you assess your week?

LEXI THOMPSON: It was overall an amazing week. Not only was the course in great shape for us, but Terry Duffy and all the hospitality, the fans, volunteers, it's just a top notch event.

I always love coming back here. The fans were amazing this weekend. It's just a great event overall. I'm very happy with how I finished the last few weeks of the year.

Q. How would you assess your 2021? It's been a heck of a two years. With everything that's gone on this year, what grade would you give yourself?

LEXI THOMPSON: Overall, I mean -- a grade? I don't really want to give myself a grade, but I think overall a lot of positives to take from the year.

I played some great golf, especially towards the end. I've put in a lot of hard work, working with Martin Hall out there and just putting in the hours and the practice.

Especially on the mental side as well. I feel like I was in a much better place, especially coming towards the end of the year just mentally.

I just had more of a good time out there and I had some good, consistent finishes. Just going to take that into 2022.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Jin Young Ko's start leaves rest of CME LPGA field behind