LYDIA Ko, nursing an overnight three-stroke lead, knew that if she played steady golf on the final day of the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa’s Tanjong course in Singapore, she’d win the tournament.
“I started off really consistently,” she said. “I hit a lot of greens, and I think that was going to be the big key. 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.”
They dropped on the sixth, seventh and eighth holes for a trio of birdies that gave the Kiwi champion a five-stroke lead and allowed her to virtually coast home for her first win in a tournament she has contested 11 times.
“I think that played into my favour,” she said, “that I’ve been there and done that. So it didn’t feel like a completely new experience.”
Ko shot rounds of 71, 67, 68 and 69 to win by four strokes from Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikal (71, 72, 66, 70) and Japan’s Ayaka Furue (71, 69, 71, 68).
A missed 1.5m putt for par on the 11th gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope, but another birdie on 13, followed by a spectacular 15m putt for birdie on the par-three 15th gave her an insurmountable lead.
She could even afford to bogey the tough par-three 17th before finishing the tournament with a par on the last after finding the greenside bunker.
Lydia Ko recorded a four-shot victory in what was her 11th appearance at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
“I dreamed last night that I won, but then I woke up, and I was like, dang, it’s not real yet,” Ko said. “To win here in Singapore and get all the love, not only this year, but for the years that I’ve come, it means a lot. It’s exciting to add Asia’s ‘major’ to my major collection.”
Thitikal, the pre-tournament favourite, made no mistakes and played a bogey-free round, but could make no impression on the champion’s lead. It was the young Thai’s 10th successive top-10 finish, and she continues to impress as one of the game’s best players.
“It’s more than I expected, to be honest,” she said. “I knew after the second round, I was frustrated a little bit how I was playing. But finishing tied second – that’s really, really nice.
Furue made a last-round charge, notching birdies on the sixth, eighth, 13th, 15th and 16th holes to climb into second place, but stumbled at the par three 17th, taking bogey.
Thitikal and Furue were two strokes ahead of a group of players on seven-under-par – Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (70, 73, 68, 70), Korea’s Jin Hee-im (72, 74, 68, 67), who owned the best round of the day, and England’s Charley Hull (69, 70, 68, 74).
Defending champion Hannah Green bogeyed the first hole and couldn’t get anything going, signing for a one-under-par 71 that left her tied for seventh place on six-under.
“I feel like I’m exhausted just from playing one week,” the Western Australian said. “Obviously it’s always a big week defending but also in this climate it makes it a little bit more difficult. But I was grateful that I had some friends and a lot of support out there.
“Today I didn’t wake up feeling that great. So I did well to shoot under par. I definitely made the most of my round. The putter was still really hot today. Happy to defend the title, and hopefully bring this form back to the States.”
Minjee Lee had her moments at the HSBC event before finishing nine shots behind the winner.
Minjee Lee’s hoped disappeared when she took a double bogey seven on the par-five fifth hole, followed by a triple-bogey seven on the 12th, after she hooked her drive into thick rough.
Apart from those two horrors, the Western Australian played well, collecting birdies at six, eight, 11 and 18 for a one-over-par 73, and a four-round total of four-under. She’s close to her best form again.
The other Australians – Steph Kyriacou (82, 71, 70, 72), Gabi Ruffels (80, 71, 76, 75) and Grace Kim (78, 77, 72, 76) – finished near the tail of the 66-strong field.
NOTE: Inside Golf was a media partner for the HSBC Women’s World Championship, one of the early season highlight events on the LPGA Tour.
The post Ko steady as she goes in HSBC win first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.
Article Link: https://www.insidegolf.com.au/news/wpga/ko-steady-as-she-goes-in-hsbc-win/