Lydia Ko shot a final-round 69 to win her first HSBC Women’s World Championship in 11 appearances on Sunday in Singapore.
For Ko, who had five birdies and three bogeys on the Tanjong course at Sentosa Golf Club, it’s her 23rd career LPGA Tour victory. She finished the tournament with a 13-under 275.
Ayake Furue of Japan (68) and Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand (70) tied for second place, four shots back of Ko. Furue started the day tied for seventh, and for Thitikul, this was her 10th consecutive top-10 finish.
Charley Hull of England entered the round one shot back of Ko but finished with a 74, leaving her six strokes off the pace and in a three-way tie with Gaby Lopez (70) of Mexico and Jin Hee Im (67) of South Korea for fourth place.
With the win and the $360,000 payday, Ko, of New Zealand, passed Karrie Webb to move into second place on the career official money list at $20.6 million, leaving her about $2 million behind leader Annika Sorenstam.
At 27, Ko already is a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame but had been left disappointed by the results of this tournament in the past.
“I dreamt last night that I won but then I woke up, and I was like, dang, it’s not real yet,” she said after the match. “But I just wanted to focus on my game, and it was a pretty tight leaderboard.” .
Ko’s confidence grew after playing the first five holes at par, then recording birdies on Nos. 6 through 8 to move to 13 under.
“I started off really steady, and you know, didn’t really put myself in trouble that much,” she said. “I think that was going to be the key for today. I felt a lot better coming into this event than a few weeks ago but I don’t know that I would win. But 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.”
Equally pleased with the result was Furue, whose best start this season had been a T13.
“I’m very happy with this outcome because this year, I’m not playing well until this tournament,” she said. “So I’m very happy with that.”
A Lim Kim of South Korea, who led after the first two rounds, followed Saturday’s round of 73 with a 72 on Sunday to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place at 6 under.
–Field Level Media
