Lydia Ko ended an eight-year drought by winning the AIG Women’s Open after a thrilling finish in stormy weather at St. Andrews.
The New Zealander, who won the Olympic gold medal earlier this month, birdied the final hole and closed with a score of 69 (three under par) to celebrate her third major victory at seven under par.
Last year’s champion Lilia Vu failed to hole a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff, and then missed from 12 inches, giving Ko a two-shot victory.
“It’s unreal,” said the 27-year-old. “Winning the gold medal in Paris a few weeks ago was almost too good to be true.”
“Before the weekend I was thinking, ‘How can I win the Open?’ The last two weeks have been a true Cinderella story.”
Englishwoman Lottie Woad won the Smyth Salver as best amateur by making a birdie on the last shot and finishing with a par.
Ko became the youngest woman to win a major when she won the Evian Championship in 2015 at the age of 18.
In 2016, she won what is now known as the Chevron Championship, but despite eleven top-10 finishes in the majors since then, she has not been able to increase her account.
And their hopes of doing so on Sunday hung in the balance during a thrilling finale as rain and wind lashed the Old Course as they had all weekend.
World number one Nelly Korda appeared to have taken control with a series of three birdies in four holes around the turn, and she led by two shots on the 14th tee.
But some poor wedge shots around the green left her seven shots down on the par-5 hole, and she made a bogey on the 17th, falling behind to finish tied for second place at five under par with Vu, Ruoning Yin and Jiyai Shin.
Meanwhile, Ko, playing in a group ahead of him, managed a terrific up-and-down for par from the back of the 16th hole and then a wonderful second hole to the 17th that gave him an easy par and kept him at six under par.
With her birdie on the final hole, she set the target at seven under par and watched from the practice putting green as Vu failed to reach her three.
When asked how she would classify this victory, she replied: “It’s like asking me who I like best, my mom or my dad.”
More to follow.
