Golf: Off the pace Lydia Ko claims another award

Lydia Ko in action at the Evian Championship. Photo / AP

Lydia Ko has added another award to her ever-expanding trophy cabinet despite finishing well back at the Evian Championship.

Korean Chun In-gee fired the lowest ever major championship score to win the final major of the year. Chun carded a final round two under 69 to finish on 21-under par, four shots clear of the field.

Ko finished in a tie for 43rd on two over par, but still claimed the third edition of the Rolex Annika Major Award - rewarding the player with the best combined record at all five majors and named after 10-time major winner Annika Sorenstam.

Ariya Jutanugarn needed to finish in a share of fifth or better in order to win the award but came up just short at T-9 for the week.

Ko won the season's first major championship of the season at the ANA Inspiration, had a second at the Women's PGA Championship, after losing a playoff, a T-3rd at U.S. Women's Open followed by a T-40th at the British Open.

The only players eligible to win this year's award were the season's four previous major champions: Ko, Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn and Brittany Lang.

"It means a lot, especially because coming into this year my goal was to be more consistent in majors, and this exactly is the award for that, and obviously you need a win to have that, and just to have it named after Annika and how successful she's been in majors and just in general and what she's done for the game, I think there might not be some of us if it wasn't for a player like her," said Ko.

"It's something that I could have only really dreamt of and imagined of, and for it to be true in a few moments I think is going to be awesome, and especially for me to stand alongside a legend like Annika."