She already clinched the 2021 LEADERS Top-10 title, but Jin Young Ko is hungry for more.

The 11-time LPGA Tour champion claimed Rolex Player of the Year honors in 2019 and is in the hunt to secure the award for a second time with a top finish at the CME Group Tour Championship, for which she is the defending champion. Ko is currently second in the standings, 10 points behind World No. 1, Nelly Korda.

“I would say it's pretty much the same in 2019 and 2021, but feels way different,” said Ko, who has earned four wins so far this season. “In 2019, I had lots of confidence from early in the year to the end of the season. But early this year, I didn't have confidence on the course, in my swing, or mental, anything.

“My swing, my game now feels almost perfect. I’m really happy to be back [at Tiburón Golf Club], and I can remember every hole, every shot from each day [last year].”

One similarity between 2019 and 2021 is Ko winning the LEADERS competition both seasons. If history fully repeats itself, then a second Player of the Year reward might not be too farfetched. “It's really an honor to get LEADERS Top 10 twice, in 2019 and two years later. It means I play really well and really consistent during the year,” said Ko, owner of 12 top-10 finishes across 18 starts. “Especially on this Tour, a lot of good players out here but I got LEADERS Top 10. That means I was a little bit lucky.”

One big difference is the loss of her biggest cheerleader and grandmother, Soon Deok Jung, in March. It was an emotional weight that was too much to bear, at times. “I really wanted to go to Korea to see her, but I couldn't go because quarantine is two weeks. I FaceTime with my mother and I saw grandmother on the phone, then I heard grandmother passed away from my mother before the ANA [Inspiration].

“That was the first time I really don't want to play on the LPGA Tour. Because if I did play KLPGA, I could see her but this Tour, I love this Tour, but it's too far from Korea. I couldn't get back before she passed.

“I didn't have motivation for the golf course. But still had a good year and I'm happy for that," said Ko. "She looking down on me from the sky. She really wants to see a lot of wins, so after she passed away I was thinking, yeah, she really wants to see a lot of wins from the heavens, so I work hard and I won four tournaments. So, she's going to be happy, yep.”

Déjà vu and a Guardian Angel for Jin Young Ko

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