New Zealand’s Lydia Ko birdied the last 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 Ruoning Yin, and third round leader Jiyai Shin of South 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.
Lydia Ko. Photo: Tristan Jones/LET
Beginning the final round three shots back of 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-par. The New Zealander easily found the fairway and stuffed her approach to six feet, draining the 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 earlier this month. 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, tied for the fifth fewest among the field. The US$1,425,000 winner’s cheque took her past the US$19 million mark in official career earnings with US$19,212,009.
“It’s been a crazy past few weeks. Something that was too good to be true happened, and 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,” said Ko, who is now a 21-time LPGA Tour winner.
Ko’s previous two major victories came at the 2015 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2016 Chevron Championship.
