New Zealander Maintains Her No. 1 Ranking
IRVINE, Calif. – As if to prove that her recently-achieved No. 1 world ranking isn’t a fluke, Lydia Ko used Proto Concept irons to birdie three of her last four holes and win the BMW Ladies Championship (Oct. 23) in Wonju, South Korea.
It was the second victory of the year for the 25-year-old Korea-born New Zealander and her 18th on the LPGA Tour. Ko shot a total of 21-under par with rounds of 68-68-66-65—267 at the Oak Valley Country Club and collected a $300,000 winner’s check.
“Proto Concept Golf and Golf Partner USA would like to congratulate Lydia Ko for her victory at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea,” said Yasufumi Kawasaki, Brand Producer of Proto Concept. “Proto Concept is proud that Lydia became our brand representative on the LPGA Tour after she made the decision to switch to our irons earlier this year.”
Ko plays a C07 6-iron and Proto Concept’s C05 irons in Nos. 7-9. MyGolfSpy ranked the C05 irons its Most Wanted among Player’s Distance Irons for Best Distance and recognized the C07 irons as its Most Wanted Game Improvement Irons for 2022, ranking them No. 1 in Forgiveness and No. 2 in Accuracy.
Ko, who remains No. 1 in the LPGA’s Race to the CME Globe rankings and in Scoring Average, began playing Proto Concept irons early this year at the suggestion of her personal club fitter. She made the change and immediately won the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio (Jan. 30); shortly thereafter she signed an endorsement agreement with Proto Concept and Golf Partner USA, an affiliated brand. Ko features the Golf Partner logo on her bag, umbrella and headcovers.
In 20 tournaments this year, Ko has two victories and 12 other top 10 finishes. She has accumulated 3,042.693 points in the Race for the CME Globe and has earned more than $2.3 million. Her Scoring Average is 69.051 in 78 rounds.
Ko is the winner of 31 tournaments worldwide, including 18 on the LPGA Tour, two of which were major championships.
Earlier this year, Proto Concept, a ultra-luxury Japanese golf club designer/manufacturer, burst onto the scene by having three of its products named to the Golf Digest’s 2022 Hot List for the first time. The Hot List was released Jan. 25.
Proto Concept is a collaboration between Japanese-owned Golf Partner Japan – the largest golf retailer in the world with some 400 locations – and fellow Japanese golf behemoth Endo Manufacturing, the industry standard in precision club manufacturing that is used by many of the world’s best-known OEMs. Kawasaki also is a managing executive officer of Golf Partner (www.golfpartnerusa.com).
“With Proto Concept Golf, the goal of our design team at Golf Partner is to produce the highest quality golf clubs for avid golfers of all handicaps,” Kawasaki said. “The name Proto Concept is derived from the prototype-quality clubs that are developed for tour professionals.”
Proto Concept products may be ordered online at protoconceptgolf.com and through designated green grass club fitters nationally, which can found at https://protoconceptgolf.com/pages/store-locator.
Proto Concept was established in 2019 in Tokyo, Japan and is a part of Golf Partner Co. Ltd. www.golfpartnerusa.com. Yasufumi Kawasaki is Brand Producer for Proto Concept and is a managing executive officer of Golf Partner Japan.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Barry Cronin
Cronin Communications, Inc.
847-867-3032
