Golf: Lydia Ko fails to fire in Scottish Open's final round

Lydia Ko couldn't find a way to post a low score in her final round in the Scottish Open. Photo / Getty

Lydia Ko has failed to fire in the final round of the Scottish Open, leaving Japan's Ayaka Furue the chance to storm to a maiden LPGA Tour victory.

Ko began the day in a tie for first place with France's Celine Boutier but struggled to find ways to get under par as she posted just three birdies, alongside two bogeys, as part of a one-under 71.

In contrast, Furue nailed a bogey-free, 10-birdie round of 62 to eventually win by three shots over Boutier.

A seven-time winner on the Japan LPGA — once as an amateur — Furue became the second rookie to win on the LPGA Tour this year, and she did it in style at Dundonald Links.

"I was four shots back. I thought it would be difficult to catch the top, good players. But I'm very happy I played good golf and I was able to come out as a winner," Furue said. "I had the right mindset. I thought I had to go low, and I played very well."

Consecutive rounds of 71 over the weekend doomed Ko to a tie for fifth on the leaderboard after a hot start to the tournament.

"I feel like I wasn't able to get things going over this weekend. Overall I played really solid. Even the last couple days, I hit a couple of not-so-good shots, but other than that... I feel like there were a lot of good things, and like I said, sometimes when you get in a good rhythm of things, you're able to keep it going," Ko told media following her round.

"But I just was never on that train on this weekend, hopefully this is a good momentum for next week."

Next week for Ko is a shot at the Women's British Open, a tournament in which she's traditionally struggled to make a mark in. However, the fact it's taking place at a brand new venue in 2022 has given her hope for a better result.

"Yeah, I haven't had the greatest I think track record at The Open. So I'm excited for Muirfield. Obviously it's the first time that the women's championship is there, so it's a pretty historic venue and historic championship.

"I've heard a lot of great things about it. Seen it on TV. So I'm excited to go play."

Fifth place at Dundonald this weekend earned Ko a purse of NZ$99,101 to take her 2022 earnings to just under NZ$2.5m.

- with AP