Lydia Ko claims two-shot victory; Nelly Korda squandered two-stroke lead over closing holes to share second with Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin; Ko's victory follows Olympic gold earlier this month; England's Lottie Woad finishes tied-tenth and as lowest amateur
Monday 26 August 2024 07:16, UK
Lydia Ko ended her eight-year major drought by coming through a star-studded leaderboard to claim a dramatic victory in the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.
The former world No 1 overturned a three-stroke deficit during the final round at the iconic Old Course, mixing four birdies with a lone bogey - in wet and breezy conditions - to close a stunning final-round 69 and set the clubhouse target.
Overnight leader Jiyai Shin, defending champion Lilia Vu and world No 1 Nelly Korda all had chances to catch Ko over the closing stretch but were unsuccessful, as the Olympic gold medallist finished two shots clear and secured a first major win since the 2016 Chevron Championship.
Vu could have forced a play-off with a closing birdie but finished with a three-putt bogey to share second with Shin, Ruoning Yin and Korda, who squandered a two-shot advantage over the final five holes to miss out on a second major win of the year.
Ko started on four under and made an early move with a birdie at the par-four fourth, which was enough to get within one of the lead when Shin - two groups behind her - three-putted to bogey the third.
Korda two-putted from over 100 feet to birdie the fifth and cancelled out a three-putt at the next to birdie the seventh, before adding another at the par-four ninth to reach the turn in 34 and in a share of the lead.
The American started her back nine with a birdie and produced a sensational up and down to save par at the next, which briefly gave her a two-shot cushion when Shin gave back the birdie at the seventh by dropping a shot at the par-three 11th.
Ko had posted a front-nine 35 and followed a birdie at the 10th with another at the 14th, but was suddenly two back when she found the sand with her approach into the 15th and made an untimely bogey.
Korda was closing in on a seventh win of the season when she stepped on the par-five 14th with a two-shot lead but walked off with a double-bogey seven, which dropped her into a four-way tie for the lead alongside Shin, Ko and Vu and set up a fascinating finish.
Shin fell two behind with a three-putt at the 15th and added another to fall three behind at the par-four 17th, where Korda failed to get up and down from the Road Hole bunker and also see her hopes fade.
Ko produced a brilliant approach into the 18th to set up a closing birdie and set the clubhouse target, with the New Zealander watching on as Korda closed a level-par 72 with a par and Vu three-putted from 20 feet for bogey.
Ariya Jutanugarn finished four strokes back in sixth spot and Casandra Alexander shared seventh with Mao Saigo and Akie Iwai, while a closing birdie lifted world No 1 Woad into a share of tenth and saw her earn the Smyth Salver.
Charley Hull went into the final day five strokes back but faded to a share of 20th after a three-over 75, while Georgia Hall - trying to secure an automatic qualification spot in Europe's Solheim Cup team - was a further stroke back despite a one-under 71.
Speaking after victory, Ko said: "It's pretty surreal. Winning the gold medal in Paris a couple of weeks ago, it was almost too good to be true. I said to myself, 'how is it possible for me to win the AIG Women's Open?' I'd had the most Cinderella-like story the past few weeks.
"Of all the major championships, this one I've had the least amount of confidence, because I've had the least amount of experience on links and the results haven't followed either. So to be holding this trophy right now, I can't believe it."
Korda, who ended the week on five under, said: "Listen, it's golf. I'm going to mess up and unfortunately I messed up over the weekend twice in two penalising ways coming down the stretch.
"Theoretically that's what kind of cost me the tournament but I played well. I played solid. I even fought after that. I'm going to take that into the next coming events."
The Ladies European Tour heads to Ireland for the KPMG Women's Irish Open, live from Thursday on Sky Sports, while the LPGA Tour hosts the inaugural FM Championship at TPC Boston.
There's also the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale from Friday, where Great Britain and Ireland face the United States, while Team Europe look to retain the trophy when they face Team USA in the Solheim Cup from September 13-15. Stream the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and more sport with NOW.
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