Golf: Ko shares top amateur at British Open

Leading amateur Lydia Ko and British Open winner Stacy Lewis pose with their trophies. Photo / Getty Images

Lydia Ko has finished in a five-way tie for 42nd at the women's British Open.

She shot two-over par 74 in the final round to finish at six-over for the tournament, 14 shots behind the winner, American Stacy Lewis.

Ko will share the Smyth Salver as the leading amateur with England's Georgia Hall. She received the same award last year at Royal Liverpool.

It was a wearying tournament for Ko where the perils of links golf at St Andrews' old course resonated. The 16-year-old amateur played through some of the most relentless winds of anyone over the four days. Minor errors brought negotiations with pot bunkers, gorse bushes, No 8 wire fences and even a gravel path. Wind gusts were estimated at 65km/h on the third day which saw the siren suspend play the moment Ko exited the 18th green having played the worst of it.

"I play in the wind at home so I was a little disappointed in how I played overall," she said. "People like me who played in the morning, then the afternoon and again in the morning had a bad draw. It was calm most of the first day before blowing really hard in the afternoon the next day. Then they suspended the third round after I'd played; my ball even fell off the tee at the 18th. It's windy again today but I think I played in double the wind yesterday. They [the organisers] did what they thought was the right thing and I can't really complain because others were experiencing it too.

"The first two holes today were shocking [Ko had two bogeys] but I played well in the middle and holed a few putts for par. I hadn't made a birdie on a par five until then, so when I chipped it close I was like man, this putt better go in."

Ko's placing would have seen her earn approximately $17,000 if she had been professional.

She says her mum is weighing the options at the moment about whether to seek a waiver to turn pro before the Ladies Professional Golf Association stipulation of an 18th birthday. Ko is more than 20 months too young.

"I'm not sure when I'll turn pro," Ko said. "Coming to events like these is great because I can learn off so many top players from the likes of Korea, Japan, Europe and the [United] States."

Ko's coach, the Institute of Golf's Guy Wilson, expects her career to continue much the same way for now.

"She'll continue taking the offers of exemption for tournaments like this. After the Evian championship [the final women's major of the year] she'll hit the [school] books and get back to real life. As for next year, who knows? We've been seeking information and that can only be done at tournaments like this where she's around people who can answer those questions. That's what her Mum has done this week."

Ko will defend her Canadian Open title later this month on the current trip.

"I have exams to study for," Ko says. "It's going alright but there's not much time because golf is the number one priority."

Ko was impressed with the number of New Zealanders who lined the fairways supporting her.

"It doesn't matter how many people are there, as long as there's at least one. Golf would be a pretty boring game without the spectators."

"It's good for Kiwis to see someone flying the flag from other side of the world," Wilson says. "Golf has a diverse following and it's great they can take a few days off to follow one of our people."