Lydia Ko caps dream fortnight by adding Women’s Open title to Olympic gold

A career in golf is often considered incomplete without a victory at the Old Course at St Andrews. This sentiment, while slightly exaggerated, holds significant weight given the legendary players who have triumphed there – names like Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Peter Thomson, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, and Lorena Ochoa. The Old Course is known for rewarding the best in the game, and now Lydia Ko has joined this illustrious list.

With a final round of 69, Lydia Ko, a former world No. 1 and Olympic gold medallist, secured her third major title. She displayed remarkable composure over the challenging final holes, especially at the notorious Road Hole, where she executed a brilliant approach shot under heavy wind and rain to land on the green. Her par on the 17th was impressive, but it was her birdie on the 18th that brought her score to seven under par with a total of 281, a number that no one else could reach.

“This feels surreal,” Ko remarked, expressing her amazement at the achievement. Her Scottish caddie, Paul Cormack, who had previously been on Anna Nordqvist’s winning team at Carnoustie, shared in the victory. “Winning the gold medal in Paris was a dream come true, but this feels almost too good to be true. Holding this trophy is incredibly special. I’m not sure it has fully sunk in yet, but I’m deeply honored to be the champion. It was a tough week out there.”

The defending champion, Lilia Vu, current world No. 1 Nelly Korda, China’s Yin Ruoning, and two-time champion Shin Ji-yai all finished tied for second place. Korda, in particular, looked like a strong contender for much of the final round. She excelled during the Loop (holes 7-12) at the far end of the course, picking up two shots on Ko, three on Shin, and four on Vu.

However, Korda’s hopes were dashed with a double-bogey seven on the 14th hole. Despite being just 60 yards from the pin in two shots, it took her five more strokes to finish the hole. Her troubles continued at the Road Hole, where she found herself in the infamous bunker, resulting in a bogey. Reflecting on her performance, Korda said, “It’s golf. I’m going to mess up, and unfortunately, I messed up twice in critical moments over the weekend. That’s what cost me the tournament.”

Further down the leaderboard, Lottie Woad, the world’s No. 1 amateur, finished in a tie for 10th place with a final round of 73. Her performance secured her a four-shot victory over Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez in the race for the Smyth Salver award, given to the leading amateur. The 20-year-old from Farnham also finished as the top European, amateur or professional, with a score of 287, alongside Sweden’s Linn Grant and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen.

As the tournament concluded, attention shifted to the upcoming Solheim Cup. The European captain, Suzann Pettersen, will soon announce her four wildcard picks to complete the 12-woman team. The automatic qualifiers include Charley Hull, Esther Henseleit, Céline Boutier, Maja Stark, Linn Grant, Leona Maguire, Carlota Ciganda, and Madelene Sagström. The American captain, Stacy Lewis, will follow with her own selections, adding three captain’s picks to a team that already includes Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lauren Coughlin, Ally Ewing, Allisen Corpuz, Megan Khang, Andrea Lee, Rose Zhang, and Angel Yin.

Europe will be defending the Solheim Cup, having won the last two competitions and tying the match last year in Spain. The USA last claimed the trophy in 2017 in Iowa.