St Andrews Champions

Lydia Ko’s delight at winning the AIG Women’s Open is enhanced by the fact she has followed in the footsteps of Stacy Lewis by triumphing at St Andrews.

Two weeks on from securing Olympic gold in Paris and a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame as a result, Ko claimed a magical victory at the home of golf, finishing strongly to edge clear of a host of fellow superstars on a gripping Sunday.

The New Zealander’s success ended a wait of more than eight years for her third major title, Ko’s two previous victories having been achieved when she was still a teenager.

As she reflected on all she has achieved in an incredible August and how her perspective has changed since her earlier major wins, Ko paid a warm tribute to Lewis, who came out on top in the AIG Women’s Open on its last visit to St Andrews in 2013.

“I was still in my teens when I won [the 2016 ANA Inspiration] in Mission Hills and I said it in another interview, my mom says I was so much better when I was 15. I was a better golfer when I was 15 than I am now,” said a grinning Ko. “But now I can say, ‘hey, maybe this statement is wrong!’

“It's been a whirlwind of a past three weeks. It's been crazy to get into the Hall of Fame by winning the [Olympic] gold. These are things that I could have never imagined because they were just too good to be true.

“To say, oh, like what are the odds that that's going to happen at the Olympics, and then a couple weeks later I'm going to win the AIG Women's Open, I would have thought somebody was like honestly messing with me. But here I am, and it's just been unreal. I feel very fortunate.

“But I think one of the coolest things about actually winning this week is that Stacy won here in 2013, and now I'm the next Champion here at St Andrews. I think that's one of the coolest things for me.

“Because she's always been -- her and her parents, actually, have always given me advice and words of wisdom; and to say that I won the AIG Women's Open at a venue that she has won, I think that makes it very special. I feel like I'm following in the footsteps of somebody that I really respect.”

Although Ko claimed the Smyth Salver prize for low amateur, along with Georgia Hall, when Lewis triumphed at St Andrews 11 years ago, she acknowledges she was too young to fully appreciate the Old Course back then.

“I played here when I was 16 in 2013,” she added. “I don’t think I got to really enjoy and realise what an amazing place this is, and now that I’m a little older and hopefully a little wiser, I just got to realise what an historic and special place this golf course is, and it’s honestly been such a fairytale.

“Something that was too good to be true happened [at the Olympics] and I honestly didn’t think it could be any better. And here I am as the AIG Women’s Open Champion – obviously that being here at the Old Course at St Andrews, it makes it so much more special.

“I’m on cloud nine, really.”

By the time Ko made it to the 16th green on Sunday, she was one of four players – all of whom have held top spot in the Rolex Rankings – tied for the lead on six-under-par.

Nelly Korda, Jiyai Shin and 2023 Champion Lilia Vu were unable to improve their score as gusting winds made for a demanding closing stretch, but Ko produced moments of magic on each of the last three holes to take the title.

Her par save on the 16th was gutsy, the 27-year-old producing an excellent pitch from deep rough before holing a three-footer that “seemed a little bit longer at the time”.

Ko then faced driving rain and a stiff headwind on the 17th, but rose to the challenge superbly by striking her second shot to 25 feet with a 3-wood.

“That was probably one of the best shots I've hit,” said the Champion.

“On 15, I thinned my 3-wood into the green and hit into the bunker. So my biggest goal was to make solid contact. And honestly it was so windy and rainy, I saw that the ball was heading towards the pin [on 17], but I had no idea that it was on that second tier.

But yeah, because of the conditions, I could only hit one club. It was 3-wood or a 3-wood.

“So it's nice to just be able to make an aggressive swing at it - that's probably one of the best shots I've hit coming down the stretch.”

A par on 17 ensured Ko remained in a share of the lead, but she was determined to finish with a first birdie of the week on the Old Course’s iconic closing hole, where the pin position on Sunday was the same as the one used 40 years ago when Seve Ballesteros holed his famous putt for victory in The Open.

Matching the magnitude of the moment, Ko played a glorious wedge to seven feet, before finding the centre of the cup with her putt for a three.

“My goal was to make par on 17 and then make birdie on 18. Because I just wanted to make birdie on 18, period, this week,” said Ko.

“Just before my second shot on 18, I realised that I was tied for the lead and I kind of felt like the girls coming in would also birdie the 18th.

“So I wanted to make sure that I birdied and just gave myself a chance at it, no matter if I go in a play-off or end up winning, that was kind of beside the fact there.

So I kind of accomplished and did all the small goals, and I think that made me a little bit more focused on what was right in front of me instead of thinking, ‘oh, am I going to win or not.’

“I mean, it's no lie that sometimes when you're about to win, you start thinking about what you're going to say in this speech and all that. But there was no time for that. I was just so focused on what was in front of me, and that just made it a little easier.”