Two-time major champion and current World No.1 Jin Young Ko is set to headline the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open this Summer at Dundonald Links, July 28-31, alongside fellow major champions Minjee Lee, Jennifer Kupcho and winner of the 2022 KPMG PGA Championship In Gee Chun.
Joining Ko in the 144-women field, the event’s strongest field to date, are former World No.1’s which include World No.4 Lydia Ko, who in 2015 became the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No.1 in professional golf at age 17; Inbee Park, who claimed the No.1 ranking in 2013 after winning what’s now known as The Chevron Championship; and Ariya Jutanugarn, who overtook Lydia Ko at the top of the Rolex Rankings in June 2017 and became the first Thai golfer to be ranked World No.1.
The South Korean has spent four stints as No.1 giving her a total of 130 weeks at the top. She first rose to the top of the Rolex Rankings in April 2019 after winning what’s now known as The Chevron Championship. Later that year she won her second major title at the Amundi Evian Championship and reclaimed the No.1 ranking, where she remained for 100 consecutive weeks.
The 26-year-old is already one of South Korea’s most decorated female golfers with 13 LPGA titles, two LPGA Player of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020, and three LPGA Leading Money Winner awards in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Ko began this season with a history making victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in February, which saw her set the LPGA Tour’s all-time record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s (15) and most consecutive sub-par rounds (30) of which she extended to 16 and 34, before an opening round of 2-over par at the first major of the year, The Chevron Championship put these streaks to an end. She also claimed four top five finishes this season including tied 4th in the US Women’s Open earlier this month.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought a halt to Ko’s international travel in 2020, and she made the difficult decision to stay at home in South Korea for the majority of the season missing out on three major championships. She did not participate in last year’s AIG Women’s Open in Carnoustie, which means she will return to Scotland having not played on the Links since her debut in the Women’s Scottish Open in 2018 where she finished tied 3rd.
Speaking on her return to Scotland, Ko commented: “I haven’t been back to Scotland since I first played in this event in 2018 so I am really excited to return in the summer. Even though links golf is tough, I really like to experience the different conditions that we don’t get in Korea or anywhere else in the world. I haven’t travelled much outside of Asia or America over the last few years, so I am looking forward to enjoying some Scottish food and beautiful scenery while I am there and also seeing how the event has evolved since I was last there four years ago.”
Fans will return at full capacity to the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, the only professional golf event taking place in the West of Scotland this summer. Tickets are available to purchase at www.womensscottish.com.
Tournament title sponsor, Trust Golf, has increased this year’s prize-fund by 33% to $2million. The Thai based technology enterprise took over as title sponsor in 2021 as part of an ambition to help grow the women’s game and develop the next generation of golfers. Through their sponsorship of the Women’s Scottish Open, Trust Golf aim to create the best opportunities for female golfers on an international stage and use the platform to elevate women’s golf.
The Scottish Government and VisitScotland are strong supporters of women’s golf and have a long-standing commitment to the Women’s Scottish Open. As part of their goal to grow the women’s game in Scotland, VisitScotland announced last year a brand new 5-year funding agreement to the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open with investment up to £6 million through to 2025.
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