New Zealand’s Lydia Ko wrote another chapter of golfing history on Sunday when she became the youngest winner of a women’s major with a stunning final round 63 at the Evian Championship.
The flawless eight-birdie round was the low score of the week and she finished on 268, 16 under par and six ahead of American Lexi Thompson (70). China’s Feng Shanshan also shot 70 and was third on eight under.
Ko is 18 years 142 days – 171 days younger than Morgan Pressel when she won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Back in February, aged 17, Ko became the youngest player to claim the world No. 1 ranking, although the Evian victory still leaves her at No.2 behind South Korea’s Park In-Bee.
She also holds the record as the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour, the first of her nine wins coming as a 15-year-old amateur at the 2012 Canadian Open.
Ko started the final round two shots behind South Korea’s Lee Mi-Hyang, who finished joint fourth with a 74, and was three behind Thompson after seven holes.
But she birdied four holes between the seventh and 12th to take the lead and edged three ahead when Thompson, over the back and in deep rough from the tee, took a double-bogey five at the short 14th.
The final few holes were a victory stroll. An up-and-down birdie at the long 15th stretched the lead to four, then it was five thanks to a 20 foot birdie putt at the 17th and six when she holed another 20-footer at the last.
Park, winner of two majors this season, had a fine final round of 68 to finish just inside the top ten on five under par. The South Korean won the Evian title in 2012, the year before it became a major. – Agence France-Presse
