It has often been said that a golf career is not complete without a tournament win on the Old Course at St. Andrews. That aphorism is only a little exaggerated. So many of the game’s true greats – Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Peter Thomson, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Lorena Ochoa spring to mind – have won at the home of golf. It is a place where the very best have always succeeded. And to that illustrious list we can add the name of Lydia Ko.

With a final round of 69, the former world number one and current Olympic champion beat a group of challengers in the final holes to claim her third major title. A par at the infamous Road Hole – where she hit a great approach shot to the hard-to-reach green despite strong wind and rain – was impressive enough. But a birdie on the 18th hole took Ko to seven under par and a score of 281 that no one could match.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said Ko, whose Scottish caddie Paul Cormack was also involved in Anna Nordqvist’s winning bag at nearby Carnoustie three years ago.

“Winning the gold medal in Paris was a dream. But this is almost too good to be true. Holding this trophy in my hands now is something very special. I’m not sure I’ve realized it yet. I’m very honored to be the champion. It’s been so tough out there this week.”

Defending champion Lilia Vu, current world number one Nelly Korda, Yin Ruoning of China and two-time champion Shin Ji-yai eventually finished in second place. In fact, Korda seemed the most likely winner for a long time. Threes on five of the six holes that make up the famous loop (holes 7-12) at the far end of the course seemed to be the key to the final victory. Over this stretch, Korda gained two strokes on Ko, three on Shin and four on Vu.

But it was not to be. A double bogey seven on the long 14th hole was the beginning of Korda’s downfall. No more than 55 yards from falling in two shots, she needed five more shots to get the ball in the hole. That was bad enough, but two pars later, Korda reached the Road Hole, one of the most difficult par 4s in golf. And there she made one final mistake, landing her approach shot in the depths of the Road Hole bunker. A bogey was the inevitable result.

“It’s golf,” she said. “I’m going to screw it up, and unfortunately I screwed it up twice this weekend, in two punishing ways, right at the end. That more or less cost me the tournament.”

Not much further down the rankings, tied for 10th place, world amateur number 1 Lottie Woad underlined that status with a final round of 73 strokes, which saw her easily take a four-stroke lead over Spaniard Julia Lopez Ramirez in the race for the Smyth Salver Award for best amateur.

Even more impressive is that the 20-year-old from Farnham played 287 strokes, one under par, making her the leading European – whether amateur or professional – alongside Sweden’s Linn Grant and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen.

Not that it would worry the ineligible Woad, but many of those who will compete in the Solheim Cup in Virginia next month were also not identified until after play had closed.

On Monday at 4pm, European captain Suzann Pettersen will add four wildcard picks to the eight automatic qualifiers, two from the European Solheim Cup points list – Charley Hull and Esther Henseleit – and six from the world rankings: Céline Boutier, Maja Stark, Grant, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda and Madelene Sagström.

A day later, American captain Stacy Lewis will complete her own 12-man squad by adding three more captain’s picks to an already impressive lineup that includes seven players – Korda, Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang and Andrea Lee – from the Solheim Cup points table and two more, Rose Zhang and Angel Yin, from the world rankings.

After two consecutive wins and a dramatic draw in Spain last year, Europe will defend the trophy that the USA last won in Iowa in 2017.