Olympic champion Ko ‘on cloud nine’ after battling wind, rain, star quartet to Women’s Open title
- Lydia Ko shoots three-under 69 to beat likes of Lila Vu, Nelly Korda and Yin Ruoning by two strokes at St Andrews
Lydia Ko said she was on “cloud nine” after a dramatic day at St Andrews, where the Olympic champion won the Women’s Open on Sunday, her first major title in eight years.
Three weeks after taking gold in Paris, Ko birdied the final hole at the Old Course for a three-under-par 69 to beat a who’s who of stars, including defending champion Lilia Vu, world No 1 Nelly Korda, China’s Yin Ruoning and two-time Open winner Shin Ji-yai.
Ko finished at seven-under for the tournament, two shots clear of the chasing pack on a day when she also had to battle the wind and rain that battered the Scottish coast all week.
“It’s been a crazy past few weeks,” said Ko, whose last major title was the 2016 ANA Inspiration. “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 entered the final day three shots back of third-round leader Shin Ji-yai, a two-time Women’s Open champion. And the South Korean was in position for a potential hat-trick, until a trio of bogeys on the back nine led to a 74 and a five-under finish, alongside Vu, Korda and Yin.
