Lydia Ko Scores Another K-O at Australian Open (Video)
Apr 6, 2014; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Lexi Thompson attempts a shot on the second hole in the final round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship golf tournament at Mission Hills Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
With a 2-under final round, Lydia Ko beat back a Sunday charge by Amy Yang and delivered a game worthy of her top ranking this week on the Royal Melbourne Golf Club track to claim her 6th career title at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
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The Aussie Open was by no means a walk-away victory for Ko, although she put herself in contention in the first round and stayed at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the grueling 72 holes of championship play.
A pair of deeply experienced LPGA rookies, Ha-Na Jang and Ariya Jutanugarn, pulled into position to challenge Ko early in the tourney and Charley Hull was never far behind. As the Open moved into the weekend it was looking like it might be a contest between Ko and Jutanugarn, between finesse and power. But one-by-one the competition faded. Hull’s 3rd round bogey streak sent her tumbling down the board as did Jang’s devastating triple.
I’m scratching my head over a three-footer or a thirty-footer. It’s really tough and because (the hole) is so tight, the lip outs, they hurt. It’s not nice here . . . The greens are one of the hardest parts and because it is so firm, it affects the shots that are coming into the green also. – Lydia Ko
The final round held all the potential of a shot-for-shot battle between Ko and Jutanugarn, but with
Amy Yang
,
Julieta Granada
and
Katherine Kirk
lurking and waiting for an opening there was still some golf to be played.
The putting surface proved the undoing for even the best of the players. Fast greens sent balls flying past the cup and befuddling breaks complicated the comeback efforts. Birdies were elusive.
With neither Inbee Park nor Stacy Lewis, Ko’s two closest competitors for the top of the rankings, in the field this week, Ko’s victory serves to tighten her hold on the top spot in the Rolex Rankings. Yet Ko, who’s remarkably unassuming, seems unaware of the historic nature of her ascent to the top of the rankings. Here’s what she had to say about it when she pushed Park off the top three weeks ago:
It was that rare combination of unassuming self-confidence that carried Ko from a 4th round that began with a pair of bogeys through a weather delay that disrupted Amy Yang’s rhythmic charge but gave Ko a chance to get something to eat and regather her thoughts, to a final 2-shot victory.
Lydia Ko. Photo credit: ladieseuropeantour.com
What’s next for Lydia Ko? She’s headed for home and the New Zealand Women’s Open before hopping over to Singapore and rejoining the Tour for the HSBC Women’s Championship.
"Just being able to go home is a big thing"
It’s not the life of a typical 17-year old, but Lydia Ko is hardly a typical 17-year old. She’s the youngest ever ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open champion, the youngest-ever golfer to be ranked the best in the world, and the current leader of the year-long Race to the CME Globe who’s following her coach’s advice to “be smart, play safe when you need to and then be aggressive.”