St Andrews, Scotland: New Zealand’s Lydia Ko birdied the final hole at St Andrews to win the AIG Women’s Open for the third Major title of her glittering career.
The 27-year-old Ko carded a closing 69 for a total of seven-under-par 281, two shots ahead of four golfers – Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings number one Nelly Korda and 2023 winner Lilia Vu, both of the United States, China’s Yin Ruoning and third-round leader Shin Ji-yai of Korea.
On a wet and windy Sunday at the Old Course, the lead changed hands multiple times coming down the stretch in one of the most thrilling final rounds of the 2024 LPGA Tour season.
Beginning the final round three shots behind 54-hole leader and two-time champion Shin, Ko came to the 18th hole needing a birdie to post the clubhouse lead at seven-under.
The New Zealander, a former amateur standout who represented her country in the Queen Sirikit Cup, easily found the fairway. Her approach shot finished six feet past the cup from where she holed the left-to-right birdie putt.
The dramatic triumph at the Home of Golf will go down in Ko’s personal record books as one of the most significant victories of her career, alongside her gold medal at the Paris Olympics a fortnight ago.
The Olympic victory earned her the 27 points necessary for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Ko needed just 124 putts over the week at the ic0onic Old Course, tied for the fifth fewest among the field. The US$1.425 million winner’s cheque took her past the US$19 million mark in official career earnings.
Ko, who is now a 21-time LPGA Tour winner, said: “It’s been a crazy past few weeks. Something that was too good to be true happened. I honestly didn’t think it could be any better, and here I am as the AIG Women's Open champion this week.
“Obviously, being here at the Old Course at St Andrews, it makes it so much more special. I just loved being out there this week.”
Ko’s previous two Major victories came at the 2015 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2016 Chevron Championship.
In addition to Ko, Shin and Yin, three other Asia-Pacific players finished in the top-nine – Thai Ariya Jutanugarn (sixth, 285) and Japanese Mao Saigo and Akai Iwai (tied seventh, 286).
Thailand’s Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul, winner of the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in 2018, ended in a share of 17th place on even-par 288.
The Smyth Salver, awarded to the low amateur, went to England’s Lottie Woad, number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She finished in a tie for 10th on one-under.
Ko shared the Smyth Salver with England's Georgia Hall at St Andrews 11 years earlier. Now she’s celebrating claiming an even bigger prize.
