'Ko's career highlight win banishes under-achiever tag'

Her mother thinks she was a amended golfer successful her teenage years, but Lydia Ko showed Hall of Fame credentials pinch a thrilling and fitting triumph astatine nan location of play connected Sunday.

Just 3 weeks connected from completing a afloat group of Olympic medals pinch golden successful nan Paris Games, nan New Zealander came from down to complete a stirring AIG Women’s Open triumph worthy of St Andrews’ historical Old Course.

Ko’s occurrence provided a glorious conclusion to nan awesome title play contempt challenging conditions, a worrying stumble from nan world number 1 Nelly Korda and immoderate painfully slow play.

Galleries numbering 52,887 were treated to a shootout involving nan very champion of women’s play pinch erstwhile number ones Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin besides progressive successful nan tense decorativeness that lasted until nan last green.

There, Vu missed a birdie putt that would person forced a play-off aft Ko had go nan only starring contender to break 70 arsenic beardown winds gusted crossed golf’s astir celebrated links.

Ko’s closing three-under 69 ended an 8 twelvemonth hold for a 3rd awesome title and it was fitting that specified a storied subordinate should triumph successful nan sport’s astir celebrated surrounds.

A decade agone she became golf’s youngest world number 1 and successful 2015 she fired a grounds 63 to drawback her first awesome astatine nan Evian Championship. Then she quickly added nan ANA Inspiration title.

She seemed destined to predominate fields for a procreation and more. But play seldom follows a predictable path.

“I've had my adjacent stock of ups and downs betwixt 2015, 2016 to 2024,” Ko reflected aft receiving nan trophy.

“When things are going well, it's difficult to deliberation astir erstwhile you're not playing good because each you're really doing is conscionable enjoying that moment.

“And connected nan different hand, erstwhile things aren't going well, you consciousness for illustration you're ne'er going to get retired of that lull. I've been successful some of those positions.”

Ko’s Olympic triumph took her into nan LPGA’s Hall of Fame. At 27 she is nan youngest to gain specified an accolade, yet location had been a increasing emotion that she had go an under-achiever.

This awesome win, surely, banishes specified a notion. “My mom says I was truthful overmuch amended erstwhile I was 15,” Ko smiled. “But now I tin say, hey, possibly this connection is wrong.

“It's been a whirlwind of a past 3 weeks. It's been crazy to get into nan Hall of Fame by winning nan gold. These are things that I could person ne'er imagined because they were conscionable excessively bully to beryllium true.”

Ko profited arsenic Korda crumbled aft assuming a ascendant position pinch a barrage of birdies astir nan turn. The existent world number 1 seemed to beryllium cruising until her wedge into nan par-five 14th flew long.

She past took 4 shots from nan backmost of nan greenish for a ruinous double bogey and past grounded to capitalise connected an meticulous attack to nan 16th. The title was firmly successful her grasp but she fto it go.

There should beryllium immoderate sympathy because Korda is simply a refreshingly speedy golfer. Maintaining immoderate benignant of hit was impossible, though, because her playing partner Jenny Shin was dispiritingly slow.

Final information 2 balls lasted 5 hours. Even allowing for nan delays caused by nan weather, St Andrews’ unsocial double greens and shared fairways, specified tardy gait of play undermined what should person been an bonzer spectacle.

The men’s crippled is arsenic culpable and extremist action is required.

Every subordinate successful starring tournaments should beryllium connected nan clock. It yet happened connected nan 12th spread to Vu and playing partner Jiyai Shin, who were successful nan last group and had fallen much than a spread down Korda and Jenny Shin. But nan strategy does not work.

Golfers should beryllium automatically monitored and pinch slow play ruthlessly penalised this curse could beryllium banished.

Depressingly, location is small chance of specified action being decently implemented.

On nan upside, we tin bask Ko’s invited resurgence. She is an engaging characteristic and a awesome golfer.

At nan commencement of past week this Seoul-born Kiwi wondered retired large really overmuch longer she will proceed to compete. Thankfully she is not yet fresh to to measurement backmost from nan crippled successful nan measurement nan 29-year-old Lexi Thompson is planning.

Ko recalled immoderate caller proposal from a friend. “Try to deliberation of getting into nan Hall of Fame arsenic for illustration a state position connected nan measurement to my last destination and not for illustration my last destination,” she said.

“I was making it look for illustration that was my extremity point, and aft proceeding that, that put it into perspective. It's not for illustration I'm going to get successful nan Hall of Fame and say, ‘bye-bye, golf’.”

It is conscionable arsenic good she did not, because this Women’s Open was a profession item to cherish.