Lydia Ko of New Zealand acknowledges the crowd following victory on the 18th green. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
Lydia Ko secured her 23rd LPGA title with a four-stroke victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. Posting rounds of 71-67-68-69 for 13-under 275, the LPGA Hall of Famer claimed the winner’s prize of US$360,000. With this victory, Ko moves past Karrie Webb on the all-time LPGA earnings list, trailing only Annika Sorenstam.
Japan’s Ayaka Furue climbed the leaderboard with a final round 4-under 68, securing her first top-five finish of the 2025 season. She tied second with Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (70) on 9-under 279.
The ‘Asia’s Major’ holds a special place in Lydia Ko’s heart. Having competed in the event for many years, the victory marks a significant milestone for the golf star.
“I dreamt last night that I won, but then I woke up, and I was like, dang, it’s not real yet,” she said with a laugh.
Despite the tight leaderboard over the past few days, Ko kept her focus inward. “Just focusing on me was really important,” she explained. Starting the day with a steady game, she avoided trouble and stuck to her strategy—a decision that proved the key to her success.
Ko’s confidence heading into the event had been higher than a few weeks prior, though she wasn’t sure a win was in the cards. “I felt much better coming into this event than a few weeks ago, but I don’t know I would win,” she admitted.
“To win here in Singapore and get all the love, not only this year but for the years that I’ve come, it means a lot,” Ko said, adding “Asia’s Major” to her already impressive collection of titles.
Reflecting on her “miracle year” in 2024, Ko acknowledged a flicker of doubt that often follows an exceptional season. “You have such an incredible year, and you think, is it going to be another good year, the following one?”
“I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody else,” she said. “Who is to say that, you know, I had a great year, and I can’t have an even better one?”
Reflecting on her performance, Ayaka Furue credited her improved play on the back nine, an area she had struggled with in previous rounds. “Today, I had very good shots. I’ve been struggling with the back nine the last three days, so I was happy to have back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16,” she said.
Ayaka Furue of Japan
This result marks her first top-10 finish of the season, a breakthrough she was pleased to achieve. “I’m very happy with this outcome because I haven’t played well until this tournament,” Furue admitted.
She emphasised the confidence she gained from her ball-striking throughout the week. “I was really confident in my shots today. That was really helpful for me,” said the 2024 Evian Championship winner.
She added that the layout, particularly the course distance, suited her game well.
Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
This week has been a whirlwind for Thai star Jeeno Thitikul. Speaking candidly after her final round, Thitikul admitted that the result exceeded her expectations, especially after a rocky start.
“It’s more than I expected, to be honest,” she said. “I knew that after the second round, I was a little bit frustrated by how I played in [the] first and second rounds. But finishing second, tied second, is really, really nice.”
“The weather was so hot, hot today, to be honest,” she noted.
Charley Hull of England
Charley Hull from England secured a tied fourth place alongside Korea’s Jin Hee Im and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, finishing at 7-under par with a total score of 281. A Lim Kim, who led after the first and second rounds, ended in a tied seventh position with defending champion Hannah Green, Yealimi Noh, and Hyo Joo Kim, on 6-under 282.
Singapore’s Shannon Tan capped off a memorable week at the tournament, marking a significant milestone in her career as she teed up in her first LPGA event. While the 19-year-old Singaporean admitted her performance wasn’t at its peak, she took valuable lessons from the experience.
“This week overall was a dream come true actually to get to tee it up,” Tan said. “Playing-wise, the way I played wasn’t really the best. I got off to a really slow start but played a lot better on the back nine today.”
Shannon Tan of Singapore
Having previously competed in The Open and the Olympics, Tan was able to gauge her game against the world’s best players. Despite some struggles, she noted areas of improvement and where she still has room to grow.
“There’s quite a lot to learn from playing with all the other LPGA players,” she said. “Looking back at past LPGA co-sanctioned events, I feel like some parts of my game have improved. But there are also some things in my game lagging, like my wedge play. I think that’s one of the biggest things I can improve on. On the other hand, my short game has improved a lot, so that’s something positive to take away.”
“I think I can improve on some things, just looking at what I’m sort of lagging in compared to the other players,” she said. “I’m not sure where I finished exactly, but I was in the top 20 yesterday. That shows that my standard is somewhat there, but of course, there are still things to improve on,” added Tan, who posted rounds of 73-72-69-74 for an even-par 288 and tied for 34th position.
Her final standing in the tournament marked the best finish by a Singaporean in event history.
