Lydia Ko is back, really back and she put on a total clinic at the Lotte Championship with a dazzling 28-under par performance that snapped a three-year winless drought.
Things started pretty quietly for Ko during the final 18 holes at the Kapolei Golf Club in Hawaii. It was even quieter for her playing partner, Nelly Korda, who couldn’t muster a charge or challenge to Ko.
By the time Ko finished the front nine in two-under par then started the back nine birdie-birdie-birdie — she made it clear that everyone else was playing for second place as she built a six-shot lead with just six holes to play. Ko’s final round 65 got her to a tournament-record 28-under (67-63-65-65) and with her closing 62 last week at the ANA, she is 32-under par for her last 90 holes on the LPGA Tour.
Ko turns 24 next week and after winning 14 times in her first 81 events, was winless for 1,084 days until Saturday when she won by a whopping seven shots.
“When it doesn’t happen you do doubt,” Ko said after her return to the winner’s circle. “If I said I didn’t doubt myself at all it would be a lie. I wondered if I’d ever be back in the winner’s circle, but obviously I’m grateful for all that’s happened in my career so far. It’s been a fun week in Hawaii and to be back in this position is obviously super cool.”
Her performance was only three shots shy of the LPGA scoring record of 31-under set by Sei Young Kim. Kim closed with a 65 and finished tied at 21-under with Hall of Famer Inbee Park (63), Nelly Korda (71) and Ireland’s Leona Maguire (67). Park, Kim and Korda are ranked 2-3-4 in the world, respectively.
First and second round leader Yuka Saso was one of four players who finished at 19-under.
But this week belonged to Ko, who has seen a resurgence in her game after working with swing coach Sean Foley.
“I think I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I know there were expectations,” Ko acknowledged. “I slept great last night. I just said, ‘Hey, my fate is already chosen.’ I’m just going to play the best golf I can today. I hung in there.”
She won $300,000 and pushed her career earnings past $11.5 million.
Brooke Henderson, winning of the last two Lotte Championships, finished tied for 27th.
Lotte Championship Final Scoreboard:
John Catlin Wins Austrian Open In Infamous “Three-Water-ball” Playoff:
When overnight leader Martin Kaymer faltered on Sunday at the Austrian Open, American John Catlin and another German — Max Kieffer — upped their games and tied after 72-holes at 14-under par. Catlin closed with a 65, Kieffer shot 66 to extend play into sudden-death at the Diamond Country Club outside Vienna.
The officials determined that the two would play the closing par three 18th until someone prevailed. It took a while.
Catlin had a chance to end things at the 18th in regulation play but he missed an eight-foot birdie putt for victory and waited until Kieffer finished.
On the first trip on the 170-yard hole with water right of the green, Kieffer had virtually the same putt Catlin missed — an eight-footer for birdie and it was on almost the same line at Catlin’s previous try. Kieffer missed left, as Catlin did earlier. After going par-par the second time around, Catlin hit his tee shot to 12-feet and Kieffer landed his 18 feet away. Kieffer then holed his birdie effort and Catlin followed him with his own birdie and the playoff moved on.
On fourth-go-round, they tied with pars, Catlin had to scramble from the back bunker and holed a clutch seven-footer for par to send it to a fifth playoff hole — and that’s where things got ugly for Kieffer. Kieffer watered his tee shot, then his third from the drop area found the water, then his fifth took a bath. He finally landed his seventh on the green to deliver the win to Catlin, who made bogey from that same back bunker but four was good enough.
“I’d love to crack that top 50 in the world,” he said. “Just get a chance to play in some Major Championships – I’ve actually never played in a Major. I’m thinking this gives me a very good chance to play in the US PGA Championship, that was kind of my goal.
“Hopefully it’s good enough and to get into those events and to have the chance to win a Major, that’s been my goal since I was a kid,” said Catlin, who won for the third time in his last 13 events and is looking to climb high enough in the world rankings to get into some majors along with the WGC events. “Winning is never easy, it doesn’t matter what tour you’re playing on and to have gotten this one is definitely something special.”
Kaymer closed with 70 and finished solo third at 11-under par.
One Comment
baxter cepeda
Still catching up on our event but what a return to the winners circle for Ko going that Low.