Final Round Leaderboard
-7 L Ko (New Zealand); -5 N Korda (US), R Ying (Chn), L Vu (US), Jia Yi Xin (Kor)
Choices: -1 L Ward (Eng*); +1 C Hull (Eng); +2 G Hall (Eng); +4 L Maguire (Ire)
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Lydia Ko ended her eight-year major championship drought by winning the AIG Women’s Open in a tense match in windy conditions at St. Andrews.
The New Zealander, who won Olympic gold earlier this month, birdied the final hole to finish with a three-under 69 and finish at seven under par for his third major victory.
Last year’s winner, Lilia Vu, missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to force a playoff, then missed another 12-inch putt to hand Ko a two-stroke victory.
Vu finished with a 73 to finish in a tie for second place with world number one Nelly Korda, who ran out of steam on the final hole and carded 72. The previous day’s leaders were Jiyai Xin (74) and China’s Luoning Yin (70).
“It doesn’t seem real,” said Ko, 27. “I was incredibly happy when I won the gold medal in Paris a few weeks ago.”
“Going into the weekend I was thinking, ‘How can I win the British Open?’ These last two weeks have been the most Cinderella story.”
England’s Lottie Ward birdied the last to finish at one under par and win the Smith Salver, the lowest amateur finisher.
Ko shines on the Old Course, Korda fades
Ko became the youngest woman to win a major championship when she won the Evian Championship at age 18 in 2015.
She then won what is now the Chevron Championship in 2016, but has not been able to add to her win tally since then, despite 11 top-10 finishes in major tournaments.
And, as was the case all weekend, her hopes of doing so on Sunday were in jeopardy during an intriguing finale in which rain and wind battered the Old Course.
Ko started the day three strokes behind Shin but birdies on the fourth, tenth and fourteenth holes put him firmly in the running for the win.
But Korda appeared to take control with three consecutive birdies in the next four holes after the turn, and was eight under par on the 14th tee for a two-point lead.
But a couple of poor wedge shots around the green meant the American needed seven strokes on the par-five hole.
“It’s golf,” Korda said. “Unfortunately, I made two mistakes at the very end of the weekend that cost me the tournament, but I played well.”
Meanwhile, Ko, playing two groups ahead, made a great up-and-down par from the back of the pack on the 16th hole to stay at six under par.
This puts Singh and Vu, who made a birdie on the 14th hole, in a four-way tie for the lead.
With the rain getting heavier, Ko hit perhaps the best shot of the tournament, hitting her second shot on the notoriously difficult 17th hole to 15 feet and two-putting for par.
A birdie on the final hole put her on target at seven under par and she watched from the practice putting green as first Korda hit his second shot into a bunker on the road hole and then Singh bogeyed the 17th hole to effectively end their hopes.
Only Vu was left.
The American, ranked No. 2 in the world, made a 10-footer for par on the 17th hole to stay in the match.
But she couldn’t match Ko’s 3-up on the final hole, then lost focus, missed a par putt wide and finished with a messy bogey.
Asked where she ranked this win compared with her Olympic title and two other major victories, Ko said: “That’s like asking who you like better, your mom or your dad?”
England’s Charlie Hull, who led at five under after the first round, started Sunday five strokes back but back-to-back bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes and a double bogey on the ninth hole put an end to his challenge.
Hull, ranked 10th in the world, finished with a three-over 75, one over par total.