Dame Lydia Ko makes dreams come true at HSBC Women’s World Championship

Lydia Ko after winning the HSBC Women's Championship in Singapore. Photo / AFP

Less than a fortnight after being hailed for her standout 2024, Dame Lydia Ko showed she has no intention of letting her lofty standards slip in 2025.

Ko claimed the LPGA Women’s World Championship in dominant fashion on Sunday, easing to a four-shot victory to collect her 23rd career win and a $643,000 payday.

The tournament in Singapore was Ko’s first since being crowned New Zealand’s sportsperson of the year, earning the Supreme Award at last month’s Halbergs in Auckland.

After claiming an Olympic gold medal in Paris, Ko won the Women’s British Open, become the youngest woman to be named in golf’s hall of fame and was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Now, she has yet another victory to her name.

The world No 3 strode to a commanding victory over Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and Japan’s Ayaka Furue at Sentosa Golf Club, Ko’s first in 11 appearances at the championship.

A three-time major winner, Ko started the final round with a one-shot lead over a tightly packed field. She extended her advantage quickly with three successive birdies from the sixth hole and hardly looked back.

The Kiwi did drop a shot on the 11th but recovered quickly with two birdies on 13 and 15.

Another bogey on 17 did little to damage her title bid and a par on the 18th was more than enough for the Hall of Famer to triumph with a winning total of 13-under-par 275.

“I dreamt last night that I won but then I woke up, and I was like, it’s not real yet,” said Ko. “So, I just wanted to focus on my game as it was a pretty tight leaderboard.

“I felt a lot better coming into this event than a few weeks ago. I didn’t know if I would win. But to win here in Singapore and get all the love, not only this year but for the years that I’ve come, it means a lot.

“It’s also exciting to add ‘Asia’s Major’ to my major collection.”

The consistent Jeeno enjoyed a second successive top-three finish to open her 2025 campaign, and her 10th top-10 in a row on the LPGA Tour, after coming third in Thailand last week.

“I really want to keep it [going] because the more really consistent that you are, it’s giving you a good chance every week,” said the 22-year-old Thai.

Furue signed off with a 68 for her best result in her last four LPGA starts.

“I’m very happy with this outcome because this year, I’m not playing well until this tournament. So I’m very happy with that,” said the 24-year-old Japanese.

- with AFP