An emotional Lydia Ko spoke about the significance of her first victory in her birth country, after she claimed the BMW Ladies Championship by four shots and made it a stunning 18 victories on the LPGA Tour.
The former world number one shot an emphatic seven-under-par final round to finish -21 for the tournament, with Andrea Lee, Ko’s closest rival, at -17 and the trio of Hye-Jin Choi, Hyo Joo Kim and Lilia Vu finishing in a tie for third at -16.
The 25 year-old was visibly emotional whilst reflecting on her first win in her birth country of South Korea. Ko was born in Seoul but moved to New Zealand with her family at the age of four.
“I think it means a lot to win in Korea," stated Ko. "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 the leader, Atthaya Thitikul, Ko managed to take up pole position with a birdie at the fourth hole giving her the outright lead. She didn't stop there though, as back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th gave Ko a three-shot lead at -18.
Ko gets covered in champagne after securing her 18th LPGA Tour title
A late surge from Choi saw the gap close to two after a birdie on the 14th, with the South Korean then birdieing the 15th to pile the pressure on Ko with her lead closing to one shot. The pressure ignited Ko though, as she carded three birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th to assert her dominance and win 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".
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