Lydia Ko has had to deal with a lot of second guessing of late. Having made multiple changes to all aspects of her game including her swing, coach, caddie, clubs and even her own body Ko has struggled to find her form that made her a phenom. With her last victory coming in July, 2016 Ko was in an unfamiliar place…struggling for wins.
But the Lake Merced Course has been kind to Ko and yesterday she found her winning form as things got tight down the stretch and enabled her to win for the fifteenth time on the LPGA Tour.
It wasn’t easy as Minjee Lee played a gutsy final two holes with an exciting birdie hole out from a green-side bunker on seventeen and then another birdie on the final hole to get to -12 and ease one shot ahead of Ko.
Ko knew what she had to do on her final hole and her third shot pitch nearly rolled in for the win but her birdie was enough to get to a playoff against Lee.
Back to the eighteenth tee they went and Ko’s drive was significantly further back then the one in regulation play. She contemplated going for the green in two or going the safe way of laying up to her wedge distance. Out came her three wood and she proceeded to lace the shot of the year.
Far and true her ball flew, hitting short of the green and taking a peek in the hole as it slid past barely missing an incredible, winning double eagle. It stopped less than three feet from the hole and her eagle putt rolled in dead center. It was a stroke better than all Lee could manage.
What a way to finish! Lydia Ko just locked up her first LPGA win since 2016! pic.twitter.com/52rCEnxogS
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) April 30, 2018
Ko’s was crying before the ball hit the bottom of the cup as she had felt the pressure of all that had changed in her life.
The three wood was a bold challenge but she had confidence in that club. “I hit some really good 3-woods today and I said, ‘hey, you’ve got to maybe try and copy the one on the other par 5,’” Ko said. “I was able to hit a good shot again and I didn’t really know how close it was going to be. But just to have a two-and-a-half foot putt to possibly win the event is a pretty good feeling, but also nerve wracking, too.”
She just turned twenty one last week and has fifteen LPGA Tour wins including two majors. She’s still a kid with plenty to learn but this week has to be truly fulfilling and emotional for her.
“I don’t think I cried at the other 14 (LPGA victories) and I cried like four times in the span of two minutes, which is kind of embarrassing,” said Ko. “Every time I’d see my sister I cried; every time I saw my mom I cried; and then Ted (Oh), my coach, was crying so I cried again … God get ahold of yourself. I think it was emotional because they’ve been through it with me.”
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