Lydia Ko’s incredible summertime trip to Europe ended in impressive fashion Sunday at the AIG Women’s Open.
Ko, who won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics just two weeks ago, staged a final-round comeback for the ages at the final major of the LPGA Tour season and won the Women’s British at the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Ko shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to win by two over a foursome of golfers – including a who’s who of the women’s game.
At one point, there were four former No. 1s (or, in the case of Nelly Korda, current) tied at the top, with Ko, defending champion Lilia Vu, and Ruoning Yin all firmly in the mix at St Andrews. Despite a bogey on No. 15, Ko – who was two shots back of the lead on the 16th tee – added a closing birdie on the par-4 18th, and no one could catch her.
This was Ko’s third major championship title.
Vu, who captured last year’s Women’s Open at Walton Heath, had a chance to tie Ko at 7 under but ended up three putting for bogey on the final hole of the tournament.
Ko, who was on the practice green at the time (speaking with the falconer whose job at the Old Course is to keep seagulls away), broke down in tears.
The 27-year-old, just a fortnight removed from earning the final point needed to enter the LPGA’s Hall of Fame, ended a major drought that dated back to 2016.
Only three women have ever won a major at the Old Course at St Andrews – Lorena Ochoa (2007) and Stacy Lewis (2013).
“It’s been a crazy past few weeks. You know, 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, that being here at the Old Course at St Andrews, it makes it so much more special,” Ko said. “I’m on Cloud Nine, really.”
For the balance of the back nine, this was Korda’s championship to lose – and unfortunately, with a couple of late stumbles, that’s exactly what happened. The current world No. 1 who has won six times this season including the first major of the year, made double bogey on the par-5 14th and bogey on No. 17.
“Listen, it’s golf. I’m going to mess up and unfortunately, I messed up over the weekend twice in two penalizing ways coming down the stretch,” Korda said. “Theoretically that’s what kind of cost me the tournament but I played well.”
If it was any consolation for Korda, she captured the Rolex Annika Major Award for the golfer who had the best performance, cumulatively, at all five major championships this season on the LPGA Tour.
A big congrats to @NellyKorda for winning the @ROLEX ANNIKA Major Award
FULL RELEASE ⬇️ https://t.co/SNwQVwVwQA
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 25, 2024
Ko, meanwhile, has now won 21 times on the LPGA Tour. This was, perhaps, her most unlikely major triumph – she had notched only two top-10 results at the AIG Women’s Open in her career prior to Sunday’s win.
There won’t be much in the way of celebration, Ko said, as she has a pre-6 a.m. flight out of Scotland on Monday morning. But she often celebrates the end of a week with a hamburger on Sunday, so that was the plan at minimum – and some time with her husband (who was not able to make it to Paris but was there in St Andrews, along with her sister).
The LPGA Tour’s major season is finished but there’s still plenty to play for, as the Race to the CME Globe continues through until November – where Ko is a past champion at the LPGA’s season finale in Naples, Florida.
She has, however, already celebrated plenty in 2024.