The flag next to Lydia Ko’s name tells us she’s a New Zealanders but the 25-year-old star was born in South Korea.
Ko won for the first time in her birth-country with a snazzy closing 65 on Sunday at Oak Valley and she blew past the rest of the would-be contenders and won the BMW Ladies Championship by four shots.
“This is probably the best I’ve played, the most consistently I’ve played,” Ko said after a sensational final nine that saw her make birdies at 10 and 11 then she absolutely closed the deal with a run of three straight starting at the 15th. “I played the back nine really well in all four of my rounds, and I think that was the big key for me.”
Ko grew a bit emotional when she spoke about the significance of her first victory in South Korea, making it 18 wins on the LPGA Tour. her birth country, after she claimed the BMW Ladies Championship by four shots and made it a stunning 18 victories on the LPGA Tour.
“I think it means a lot to win in Korea,” stated Ko, whose family moved to New Zealand when she was age four. “It’s a place that I’m born and it makes it very special. I said more than ever I really want to win in Korea once before my career is done and to be able to do it, a few of my relatives are here and this is the first year since Covid that we’ve had fans, it means a lot. A win is special in its own way. This is one to cherish.”
After starting the final round one shot behind overnight leader, Atthaya Thitikul, Ko managed to take the lead with a birdie at the fourth hole. Then on the back nine she took over the tournament.
“I think I set a goal of five-under (for the day) and if somebody plays better than me and I don’t end up winning that’s all I can do, so I just try to focus on me. I definitely made the 18th hole harder than it actually should be played, but it’s great to be back in the winner’s circle.”
American Andrea Lee finished second at 17-under thanks to a closing 66 that got her to 17-under par. Thitikul finished the day with a two-over par 74 and fell all the way to solo sixth.
Jin Young Ko’s Wrist Injury Still An Issue:
The immediate future is a bit shaky for world No. 1 Jin Young Ko. At last week’s BMW Ladies, she shot 80 in the first round, 79 on day two then withdrew from the championship in her home country.
Her wrist injury still appears to be an issue.
“I don’t know how to explain what my wrist is like at the moment,” Ko said. “It’s not fully okay but I’m not in a lot of pain. It’s really difficult to explain the state of my wrist. But I have to say it’s not at its worst and I don’t think it’s impacting my game that much and if I don’t do well, I don’t think I can blame it on my wrist. I’m just going to do my best out there.”
If 80-79-WD is her “best” then something’s drastically wrong.
Yannick Paul Gets Dramatic Win In Mallorca:
Things looked a bit grim for Yannick Paul on Sunday at the DP World Tour’s Mallorca Open.
Paul was trying to earn his first-ever win. Paul trailed playing partner Marcus Armitage by two shots with three holes to play at the Son Muntaner Golf Club.
Armitage couldn’t close. He took bogey at the 16th then a double at 17 and Paul was back in business. A nice par save at the 71st hole tied Paul for the lead with Paul Waring and fellow German Nicolai Von Dellinghausen.
Paul’s approach into the par four 18th left him on the fringe with 15-feet between him and his first win. He struck a perfect putt and denied a possible playoff for Ware and Von Dellinghausen. That final birdie put him alone at the top at 15-under par thanks to a final round 72.
“I’m speechless, honestly, I’m just so happy,” Paul said after hoisting his first trophy. “My girlfriend and I, we worked a lot on my mental side and we were dreaming that she would be here for my first win, and she’s here now, it’s unbelievable. It was really hard today. My ball-striking was unbelievable all week. I hit it really close at the first couple of holes and couldn’t make any putts.
“So that was really hard to just stay in the moment. But luckily none of the other guys really made a lot of putts,” Paul recounted. “I saw after nine holes that I was in the lead and then Marcus obviously hit a great shot on 15 and holed a great putt so I was two shots away and I thought ‘OK, now it’s going to get close’.
“I couldn’t have dreamt of a better ending so I’m over the moon.”
