ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — It took a while, but Lydia Ko got there in the end. More than eight years from her second major championship win, the added a third with victory in the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews. Eventually that is.
At the end of a long week dominated by slow play that saw the opening two rounds both take around six hours to complete, the New Zealander reached the seven-under-par total that proved too strong for a formidable host of challengers down the stretch.
It was, in fact, an overall brilliant display by Ko and the cast of characters in her wake, almost enough, in fact, to distract the hardy souls who came to watch in weather severe even by the standards of a “normal” Scottish summer.
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“It's been a crazy past few weeks,” said Ko. “Something that was too good to be true [winning the gold medal] happened, and I honestly didn't think it could be any better But here I am as the AIG Women's Open champion. Obviously being here at the Old Course at St. Andrews, it makes it so much more special. I just loved being out there this week.
“It's been the whirlwind of a past three weeks,” she continued. “It was crazy to get into the Hall of Fame by winning the 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 messing with me. But here I am, and it's just been unreal. I feel very fortunate.”
Given the enormity of the occasion and the peerless venue, the final numbers do not begin to tell the story of a final round containing just about every one of the traditional twists and turns associated with the storied Old Course. Indeed, the back-nine on Sunday was almost Augusta-like in its ability to provide drama and excitement.
By the time the various challengers emerged from the loop of six holes (7-12) at the far end of the links the winner appeared not to be a former World No. 1 in Ko, but the current No. 1, Nelly Korda. Making 3 at five of the loop’s constituent parts, the American was eight under par and clear of a chasing pack that included two more former No. 1s in Lilia Vu and Jiyai Shin. Over that six-hole stretch, Korda picked up two shots on Ko, three on Shin and four on Vu.
Not too long afterward, however, Korda began giving up her advantage. No more than 60-yards from the flag in two shots on the par-5 14th, the 26-year-old Floridian needed five more swings to get her ball in the hole. A whole new ball game was underway, one that complicated further three holes later when Korda found the notorious Road Hole bunker with her approach to the penultimate green. Unable to play toward the hole, she made an almost inevitable bogey.
“It's golf,” said Korda. “I'm going to mess up, and unfortunately, I messed up over the weekend twice in two penalizing ways coming down the stretch. That's what kind of cost me the tournament.”
Paul Devlin/R&A
That suffering was hard enough for the long-suffering spectators—“drookit” (soaked) in Scottish parlance—to witness. But how Vu, needing a birdie on the almost drivable 18th to force a playoff, took four to get down from just in front of the green was just as painful. After seeing her drive gain maybe 20-extra yards when the ball landed on Granny Clark’s Wynd, the defending champion clumsily pitched 25 feet past the flag. Three putts followed, the ultimate anti-climax.
In contrast, Ko’s play over the closing two holes was both exemplary and, eventually, decisive. From the 17th fairway amidst the torrential downpour that represented the worst of the final day’s weather, the Kiwi struck a memorable 3-wood onto one of golf’s most elusive targets. Two putts led to a safe par that was followed by a birdie on the 18th. A deft pitch was the prelude to what turned out to be a title-clinching putt.
Her smile said it all.
“Seventeen was going to be difficult for every single person that teed up this week,” said Ko. “I just wanted to finish in a way that I could be proud of, not just the score but with my commitment and my approach to these shots. So yeah, 16 was when I first knew that I was tied, and then my goal was to make par on 17 and then make birdie on 18.”
Mission accomplished.
Oisin Keniry/R&A
Mention must also be made of Lottie Woad. The World’s No. 1 amateur confirmed her status by claiming the Smyth Salver that goes to the low amateur. Perhaps more impressively, Woad—who this week will spearhead the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup squad’s attempt to defeat their American counterparts at Sunningdale—tied for tenth place alongside Sweden’s Linn Grant and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark for the unofficial title of low European, amateur or professional, on one under par.
“This has been really great for me confidence-wise,” confirmed Woad, an All-American at Florida State. “I'm really looking forward to the Curtis Cup. It is one of the big goals that I think any amateur wants to play in. Being near where I live, it's going to be a lot of supporters. It's one of my favorite golf courses in the world. I just love heathland courses. It's going to be really fun.”
And hopefully better weather.