New Zeland's Lydia Ko poses with the trophy on the Swilcan Bridge after winning the 2024 Women's British Open Golf Championship, on the Old Course at St Andrews, in St Andrews, Scotland, on Sunday evening of August 25, 2024. - AFP
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) - Lydia Ko covered her face with her hands and cried tears of joy.
An Olympic gold medal. Entry into the Hall of Fame. And now another major championship title - at the home of golf, no less.
Summers don’t come much better than that.
Ko completed what she described as a "Cinderella-like story” by breaking free from a logjam of world-class talent to win the Women’s British Open by two strokes at St. Andrews on Sunday, securing a third major title - and a first in eight years. Just two weeks ago, the 27-year-old New Zealander took gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.
"This is almost too good to be true,” Ko said.
She rolled in a left-to-right birdie putt at the storied 18th hole on the Old Course to shoot 3-under 69 - for 7 under overall - and then had to wait to finish ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda, defending champion Lilia Vu and two-time champion Jiyai Shin.
That quartet of past or present No. 1s shared the lead at one point down the stretch of an engrossing final round played mostly in cold, blustery and wet conditions before ending in sunshine.
Ko was waiting on the practice putting green not far from the 18th green, doing stretches while wearing ear muffs, when Vu lined up a 20-foot putt for birdie that needed to go in to force a playoff. It came up short, and Vu ultimately made bogey to shoot 73 and drop to 5 under alongside Korda (72), Shin (74) and also Ruoning Yin (70) in a four-way tie for second place. Ko wept in the embrace of her caddie.
Ko qualified for the Hall of Fame by winning the gold medal in Paris on Aug. 10 and now has what many believe to be the ultimate prize in the sport - a major championship title at the home of golf.
Ko was asked what feels better: an Olympic gold medal, her first two majors, or winning a third at St. Andrews.
"It’s kind of like saying, ‘Do you like your mother better or your father better?’” she said, eliciting laughter from the crowd around the 18th green. "They are all special in their own way.”
Her last major came at the Chevron Championship in 2016. A year earlier, she won the Evian Championship as an 18-year-old prodigy.
Now, she’s like a veteran - and still winning trophies.
Korda, seeking a second major title of a dominant 2024 containing six victories for the American, started the final round two shots back from Shin, the champion from 2008 and '12 and the overnight leader on 7 under. By her 10th hole, Korda was in the outright lead after three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn and before long she was two strokes clear as Shin and Vu toiled at the start of the back nine in miserable weather.
A turning point came at the par-5 14th, which Ko birdied and Korda later doubled after flying the green and underhitting her chip back onto the green.
Ko played the par-4 17th, the famous Road Hole, impressively by hitting hybrid to 20 feet and two-putting for par and then hit a wedge shot close at No. 18 before draining the pressure putt.
Korda was up on the 17th green and heard the cheers for Ko, just before making bogey after hitting her second into the Road Hole bunker.
Korda needed eagle at the last - she could only make par - leaving Vu as the only player able to deny Ko the fairy-tale end to what has proved a perfect summer.
"Here I am as a three-time major champion,” said Ko, to a backdrop of squawking seagulls. "It's so surreal.” - AP
