Lydia Ko plays her approach into the 17th hole at the Women's Open at St Andrews. Photo / Getty Images
Lydia Ko plays her approach into the 17th hole at the Women's Open at St Andrews. Photo / Getty Images
Tied for the lead at the AIG Women’s Open, Lydia Ko stared down one of the most famous approach shots in golf.
The fact was she could barely see the 17th green at St Andrews and the concrete wall that sits behind it. The strong winds that troubled the field all week picked up even more and adding to that, rain began to fall late into the final round.
Ko was sitting in a three-way tie for the lead at six under as she stood on the 17th fairway, the Road Hole, about 200 yards from the green.
“What a time for us to play that 17th hole; and for both Alexa [Pano] and I to have parred that hole in those conditions, that was probably one of the best shots I’ve hit.”
That means something when you consider her near albatross which led to an eagle to win a playoff at the 2018 Mediheal Championship. She didn’t have to contend with Scottish weather that day.
“On 15, I thinned my three wood into the green and hit into the bunker. So my biggest goal is to make solid contact. And honestly, it was so windy and rainy, I saw that the ball was heading towards the pin but I had no idea that it was on that second tier.”
“Because of the conditions, I could only hit one club. It was three wood or a three wood. The back was completely out of play because I couldn’t reach it.
“So it’s nice to just be able to make an aggressive swing at it, but yeah, that’s probably one of the best punch shots or shots I’ve hit coming down the stretch.”
Ko missed the 18-foot birdie putt at the 17th, but didn’t miss her next birdie chance on the 72nd hole, which secured her third major title and capped off an amazing August, having already claimed gold at the Paris Olympics.
Unlike the Olympics, Ko had a big payday to go with the latest win, pocketing $2.28 million. She doesn’t have time to celebrate too long into the night. She has a 5.50am flight to catch before going on a golf holiday with her husband.
Lydia Ko lifts the AIG Women's Open trophy at St Andrews Old Course in Scotland. Photo / Getty Images
Today she won her first major since 2016 and her maiden Women’s Open title to go with the Evian Championship in 2015 and Chevron Championship in 2016. Only the US Open and the PGA Championship elude Ko now. Amazingly she lost the 2016 US Open in a playoff, and led the PGA Championship late the same year.
Ko was the leading amateur at St Andrews in 2013 and it seemed fitting she won her first Women’s Open at the famed course, along with the fact her caddie, Paul Cormack, is a Scotsman.
“Paul is a very positive person. I think when the conditions are tough or things aren’t going your way, it’s easy for all of us to spiral down and be a little bit negative.
“But he’s always got a positive outlook on things, and obviously he has a lot of experience growing up playing in Scotland. And he was telling me that one of the rules officials joked last week that they don’t know how there could be any professional golfer in Scotland, you know, with the weather; nobody would want to play golf.
“It’s been great to have somebody like a veteran like him to help me, and for us to have I think three wins together, it’s been great.”
As the wind continued to blow strong and even some Scottish rain in the mix there was a four-way for the lead at one point before Ko surged home with a three-under 69 and finish two clear of the pack.
Ko sat in a three-way tie for the lead walking up the 18th and then birdied the final hole to move to seven under. She then had to wait 34 minutes. Behind her was world No 1 Nelly Korda and defending Women’s Open champion Lilia Vu.
Vu needed a birdie on the last to force a playoff and was in prime position after a monster tee shot. But her chip went over the pin and left a long putt that she couldn’t make.
Overnight leader Korda held a two-shot lead at eight under through 13 holes but had a double bogey at the par-five 14th that had her move back to a three-way tie for the lead and then a bogey at 17 ended her hopes.
Vu, Korda, China’s Ruoning Yin and Jiyai Shin, of South Korea, all finished in a share of second at five under.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Ko said. “Winning the gold medal in Paris a couple of weeks ago was almost too good to be true. Heading into this weekend I was in contention and I said ‘How is it possible for me to win the AIG Women’s Open’? I’ve had the most Cinderella story this past few weeks and this is almost too good to be true,” Ko said at the trophy presentation.
“Of all the major championships, I think this one I had the least amount of confidence. I haven’t had as much experience playing on links and the results didn’t follow either. To be holding this trophy right now. I can’t believe it. It’s very special having my family this week here too”.
Lydia Ko celebrates with her husband, Chung Jun, after claiming her third major title. Photo / Getty Images
For Ko it was her 28th professional victory and third of the year including the Olympics. She said it was impossible to rank where this latest major sat with her previous two and the Olympic gold.
“It’s kind of like saying do you like your mother better or your father better. They’re all special in its own ways. Even the silver and the bronze were one of the biggest highlights of my career. I don’t know when I’m going to retire but I said before then, I want to win another major championship. That was my goal I set with my coaches. Here I am a three-time major champion. It’s so surreal. I’m so excited and I’m not sure it has sunk in yet.”
“I don’t think there’s a word in the dictionary that can explain what just happened,” she added.
But somebody put it into perspective before I won the Gold, they said, try to think of like getting into the Hall of Fame as like a gas station on the way to my final destination and not like my final destination. I think for a while, that was my goal. I was making it seem like, okay, that was my end point, and I think after hearing that, that put it into perspective of saying, you know, what it’s not like I’m going to get in the Hall of Fame and say, “Bye-bye, Golf.”
“I’m still planning to play. I think that just make it easier to say, you know, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, and I’m also going to focus on what’s in front of me. I think this past three weeks was kind of like a representation of that scale.
