Lydia Ko dominated the leaderboard at the HSBC Women’s World Championships with a final score of 13-under, earning her 23rd career victory in the LPGA. This is her second tournament victory by four or more shots this year.
Ko was the only player to record three rounds in the 60s. In the first round, she tied with runner up Ayaka Furue with a score of one-under and trailed behind Charley Hull by two strokes.
“I knew that Jeeno and Charley hit it much further than me. So, you know, the distance wasn’t going to be to my advantage, but as long as I played steady golf and just gave myself good looks for birdies, I felt like some of them were going to drop,” said Ko.
Overall, the LPGA hall of famer averaged a driving distance of 244 yards and made 19 birdies. She had three birdies in a row starting on the 6th hole on the last day, a pivotal moment that gave her momentum to finish on top.
“Making my first birdie on 6 and having three in a row was definitely good momentum going into the back nine,” said Ko. She made her final birdie on the 15th hole, wrapping up the four rounds with a score of 13-under.
The HSBC Women’s World Championship took place at the Sentosa Golf Club in Tanjong, Singapore. The event has earned the reputation as ‘Asia’s Major’, as 14 out of 16 titles have been secured by major champions.
The weather proved to be a challenge for the players, as temperatures soared up to 89 degrees Fahrenheit with wind gusts from 9 to 15 mph.
“The weather was so hot, hot, today to be honest, but I feel like fresher a little bit because I think I had enough rest than last week,” said runner up Jeeno Thitikul.
Headed into this year, Ko had doubts of how she would perform compared to past seasons of success.
“I think I just kind of came to peace with it – that if I have a good year, you know, that’s great. But I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody else, and who is to say that, you know, I had a great year, and I can have an even better one,” said Ko.
The next tournament, the Blue Bay LPGA, will take place March 6-9th on Hainan Island in China.
(Disclosure: Quotes may have been lightly edited for clarity.)
