(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
LYDIA Ko reclaimed her place because the queen of world golf right this moment when she led all through the ultimate spherical to win her first HSBC Ladies’s World Championship at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Membership.
Ko, the New Zealander who was elevated into golf’s Corridor of Fame final yr after profitable gold on the Paris Olympics, shot rounds of 71, 67, 68 and 69 at her eleventh try and win an occasion she describes as considered one of her favourites.
She gained by three strokes from Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikal (71, 72, 66, 70) and Japan’s Ayaka Furue (71, 69, 71, 68).
After a gentle begin that delivered 5 pars in 5 holes, she put her foot down, grabbing birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes to arrange a four-stroke lead.
A missed 1.5m putt for par on the eleventh gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope, however one other birdie on 13, adopted by a spectacular 15m putt for birdie on the par-three fifteenth gave her an insurmountable lead.She might even afford to bogey the robust par-three seventeenth earlier than ending the event with a par on the final after discovering the greenside bunker.
“I dreamed final night time that I gained, however then I awakened, and I used to be like, dang, it’s not actual but,” Ko mentioned. “I began off actually regular and, you understand, didn’t actually put myself in bother that a lot. I feel that was going to be the important thing for right this moment.
“To win right here in Singapore and get all of the love, not solely this yr, however for the years that I’ve come, it means so much. It’s thrilling so as to add Asia’s ‘main’ to my main assortment.”
Enjoying with the poise of a assured champion, Ko glided across the scenic Tanjong course – considered one of two world-class programs that make up the very good Sentosa golf facility on the banks of Singapore harbour – in seemingly informal trend.
She confirmed all of the talent and guile that was on show all through 2024, when Ko gained 4 occasions, together with three on the LPGA Tour, together with the Ladies’s British Open at St Andrews, her third main. Immediately’s win was her twenty third on tour, and her profession earnings at the moment are $20,595,105.
Ko described final yr’s efforts as equal to something she’d performed up to now, and mentioned how proud she’d been recovering from a poor 2023 season, which had her considering she may by no means win one other event.
She went into the Ladies’s World Championship ranked third on the earth, and should climb increased after right this moment’s win. However, wherever she sits, Ko’s opponents will recognise her as being maybe the perfect participant on the earth proper now, and the one to beat in any occasion.
Thitikal, the pre-tournament favorite, made no errors, scored no bogeys and performed nicely, however might make no impression on the champion’s lead. It was the younger Thai’s tenth successive top-10 end, and he or she continues to impress as one of many sport’s greatest gamers.
“It’s greater than I anticipated to be sincere,” she mentioned. “I knew after the second spherical, I used to be pissed off a bit bit how I used to be enjoying. However ending tied second – that’s actually, very nice.
Furue made a last-round cost, notching birdies on the sixth, eighth, thirteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth holes to climb into second place, however stumbled on the par three seventeenth, taking bogey.
“I’ve been combating the again 9 the final three days,” Furue mentioned. “I used to be joyful to have back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 right this moment.
Thitikal and Furue had been two strokes forward of a gaggle of gamers on seven-under-par – Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (70, 73, 68, 70), Korea’s Jin Hee-im (72, 74, 68, 67), who owned the perfect spherical of the day, and England’s Charley Hull (69, 70, 68, 74).
Australia’s problem pale when Minjee Lee took a double bogey seven on the par-five fifth gap, and disappeared fully when she adopted up with a triple-bogey seven on the twelfth, her troubles the results of a hooked drive that discovered thick tough.
Other than these two horrors, the Western Australian performed fairly nicely, amassing birdies at six, eight, 11 and 18 for a one-over-par 73, and a four-round complete of four-under.
Defending champion Hannah Inexperienced bogeyed the primary gap and couldn’t get something going, signing for a one-under-par 71 that left her tied for seventh place on six-under.
“I really feel like I’m exhausted simply from enjoying one week,” she mentioned. “Clearly it’s all the time an enormous week defending but additionally on this local weather it makes it a bit bit tougher. However I used to be grateful that I had some pals and a number of help on the market.
“Immediately I didn’t get up feeling that nice. So I did nicely to shoot beneath par. I positively made essentially the most out of my spherical. The putter was nonetheless actually sizzling right this moment. Comfortable to defend the title, and hopefully carry this way again to the States.”
The opposite Australians – Steph Kyriacou (82, 71, 70, 72), Gabi Ruffels (80, 71, 76, 75) and Grace Kim (78, 77, 72, 76) – completed close to the tail of the 66-strong discipline.
Inside Golf was a media associate for the HSBC Ladies’s World Championship, an occasion thought to be Asia’s ‘main’ on the LPGA Tour.
