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Jin Young Ko pulls off streak that not even Tiger can match

By David Salituro

PORTLAND, OREGON - AUGUST 29: Jin Young Ko of Korea hits on the fifth hole during the first round of the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on August 29, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - AUGUST 29: Jin Young Ko of Korea hits on the fifth hole during the first round of the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club on August 29, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 ranked player on the LPGA Tour, beat Tiger’s record by going 114 straight holes without a bogey.

It’s not often that a record set by Tiger Woods — particularly one from his historic 2000 season — falls by the wayside. But that’s just what Jin Young Ko did on the LPGA Tour on Thursday.

Ko, the No. 1 ranked women’s golfer, came to the ninth hole of her first round at the Cambia Portland Classic without a bogey on her card. What’s significant about that is, she didn’t make a bogey last week at the CP Women’s Open in Canada, either. You had to go back to her third round at the Women’s British Open on Aug. 3 to find the last time she dropped a shot on a hole.

She found the green in two shots at the par-four ninth on Thursday and looked in good shape to keep that run going. But after hitting her first putt to three feet, she pulled her second putt for par to the left. Her streak without making a bogey came to an end after 114 holes.

That’s believed to be the longest streak on a major tour in golf history. None of the tours keep detailed records of bogey-free streaks, but the previous record is thought to be have been set by Woods in 2000. Woods went from the fourth hole of his first round at the Bell Canadian Open in September of that year to the fifth hole of his third round of the National Car Rental Classic in October without a bogey, a span of 110 holes. It’s an achievement for a golfer, even a professional one, to go one full round without a bogey. The streaks by Ko and Woods, by comparison, equate to more than six full rounds.

Ko was visibly shocked by her short missed putt, revealing she was aware of the historic run she was on. She only blamed herself afterward for hitting a bad shot. “First putt was good but second putt I did decelerate. Yeah, so I made bogey,” she told the Golf Channel’s Jerry Foltz after her round. “It was fine, but now it feels a little bit close, I wanted to keep close to 120 holes. But still fine though.”

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Ko played her final 34 holes at the Women’s British Open three weeks ago, an event she eventually came in third place, without a bogey. Then she won in Canada last week without dropping a shot the entire 72-hole tournament. That feat has only been pulled off once on the PGA Tour in the last four decades, by J.T. Poston at the Wyndham Championship earlier this month. Poston had the longest streak on the PGA Tour this year at 82 holes.

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The 24-year-old Ko finished with a four-under 68 on Thursday and is currently in 25th place in the Cambia Portland Classic. She’s already a four-time champion on the LPGA Tour this season, including two major championships at the Evian Championship and ANA Inspiration. Add to that the chance to beat Tiger, and it’s been one incredible year for the South Korean.

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