The 16-year-old New Zealander phenom, Lydia Ko, shot a day-low round of six-under 64 and steamrolled her opposition en route to a successful defense of her crown at the CN Canadian Women’s Open.
She finished with an accumulated 265 shots for a 15-under score relative to par, five shots ahead of France’s Karine Icher who closed at 10-under for the tournament held at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club in Edmonton.
Ko last year became the youngest winner of an LPGA event last year when she won the Canadian Open at the Vancouver Golf Club at age 15. With Sunday’s victory, she becomes the first amateur in history to win two LPGA events.
She started the day one shot behind third-round leader, Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall. But she went to work quickly on Sunday with birdies on five of her first eight holes of the day opening up a big lead and never looking back.
She shot 30 on the front nine and added another birdie on the Par-4 12th reaching 15-under at the time. The only blemish on her card came immediately on the next hole, the Par-4 13th, where she missed the par-saving putt and made her only bogey of the day.
She closed out the tournament in championship style, sinking a 15-foot birdie on the 18th hole to the approving thundering roar of the crowd. It genuinely took Ko by surprise, but it didn’t matter, she took it in stride and celebrated her win.
“I didn't have it coming,” said Ko of her final putt. “That's why I was like oh, my God. I was pretty worried it would just go straight down because I knew it was a slippery putt. No, I just hit a little bit, and it trickled down in the hole.”
Another win, but unfortunately for her, as an amateur, she cannot accept the $300,000 first prize, which instead goes to Icher. Ko has played in 14 LPGA events over the last two years, leaving almost $1 million in prize money on the table.
Ko said she’s still considering asking the LPGA for an exemption to let her turn pro before she’s 18.
“I’ve got some people above me like my mom and dad. They’re the boss, and they’re going to help me definitely make the right decision to turn pro at what time,” said Ko. “As I’m only 16 it’s quite hard to make huge decisions. And when I turn pro it’s like a job, where money is all about it and every shot counts.”
Ko has always stated that her driving is the strength of her game, and proved it again this week by hitting 45 of 56 fairways and 56 of 72 greens in regulation.
The CN Canadian Women’s Open had a certain Solheim Cup feeling as many of the participants last week, hanged at or near the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend.
Icher, ranked 24th, had her best finish of the season. The 24-year-old from France carded four birdies to go with one bogey Sunday for her 10-under solo second-place finish for the tournament.
Canada has been good to Icher, who finished fifth in July at the Manulife Classic in Waterloo, Ontario. Icher also said her game improved throughout the week.
“I would like to play tomorrow,” she said. “It was a good day today. I’m very happy with my game. More putts got in.”
Hedwall, the 24-year-old from Taby fresh off her perfect performance at the Solheim Cup, looked like the one to beat on Sunday after she carded a six-under 64 in the third round Saturday to vault from a tie for 12th to the top of the leaderboard.
She began the day with a one-shot lead, but could not match Saturday’s lights out performance and settled by shooting a one-over 71 and finished in a T-3rd with yet another Solheim Cup participant, American Brittany Lincicome.
“I was trying to keep up with (Ko), but at the same time I couldn’t hit it as close and I couldn’t make as many putts,” said Hedwall, who finished at nine-under overall. “She was just really impressive today.”
Lincicome shot a one-under 69 on Sunday, but it was Saturday’s four-under 66 that got her to a T-4th and within striking distance of the leaders. Unfortunately, like Hedwall she just couldn’t get it going on Sunday.
Finishing T-5th at eight-under were South Korean I.K. Kim and American Stacy Prammanasudh. One shot back T-7th were, the World’s No. 3 Suzann Pettersen (who shot two-over on Sunday) and Germany’s Caroline Masson.
Rounding up the Top 10 finishers were American Gerina Piller in solo ninth at six-under and T-10th at five-under Americans Paula Creamer and Jessica Korda along with England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff.
In total, nine of the 12 players that finished in the Top 10, and 16 of the 23 in the Top 20, played last week at the Solheim Cup.
It was a disappointing weekend for the top two players on tour.
No. 1 ranked Inbee Park was carving up the putting greens and held a share of the lead heading into Saturday’s third round only to see her game fall apart. She finished 11 strokes back in a T-13th.
“My putting just didn’t want to go in the hole like the (first) two days,” Park said. “Nothing wants to drop. You get those kind of days.”
Park said she switched putters for this tournament because the insert on her first one was worn out. “I don’t know, I might go back to my old one,” she laughed.
The World’s No. 2 player, Stacy Lewis, shot a four-over 74 on Thursday’s first round that saw her accumulate seven bogeys. Lewis said she was mentally tired and exhausted from the Solheim Cup loss, and withdrew prior to the start of the second round.
The top three LPGA Tour members from each Official LPGA Tournament, not otherwise qualified will earn a spot in CME Group Titleholders. Should a non-LPGA member win an Official LPGA Tournament, the win will qualify her for the CME Group Titleholders.
That final ruling gave Ko a spot along with Prammanasudh and Masson in the LPGA's season-ending event.
The action on the LPGA continues next weekend with the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola from the Columbia Edgewater Golf Club in Portland, Oregon.