'Unbelievable' Olympic silver → copper → gold, hall of fame, and Lydia Ko's unforgettable August 2024 victory in major tournaments for the first time in eight years
Aug 26, 2024
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Following the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Hall of Fame, he also won the AIG Women's Open (total prize money of $9.5 million), the last major tournament of the season.
Ko, who won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, became the first golfer to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the same time, he also confirmed his entry into the Hall of Fame.
Even before the afterglow disappeared, he won the LPGA major tournament for the first time in eight years. Lydia Ko, who expressed her impression that "It's incredible…" said, "If a gold medal at the Paris Olympics was a dream, it's an incredible reality to win this competition."
Lydia Ko tied four birdies and one bogey in the fourth round on the final day of the tournament at St Andrews Old Course (par 72, 6784 yards) in Fife, Scotland, England, on the 26th (Korea time). With a final total of 7-under 281, he won the championship by two strokes ahead of the joint second place, earning $1.42 million (about 1.89 billion won).
His 21st career victory on the tour in seven months since the Hilton Grand Vacations Champions Tournament in January. It is his third career victory in a major tournament in eight years, following the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration.
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Until the end of the game, Lydia Ko, Shin Ji-ae, Korda and four other players tied for first place at 6-under par.
Ko, who started the final round tied for fourth, three strokes behind the leader Shin Ji-ae, finished the 18th hole (par 4) with a birdie to take the lead at 7-under par alone.
At that moment, the contenders for the championship group collapsed one after another.
Shin Ji-ae made a bogey on the 15th hole (par 4), and Korda also lost to Lydia Ko by two strokes with a bogey on the 17th hole (par 4).
The last chaser even missed a birdie putt of about 4m that could have gone to overtime on the last 18th hole, lost composure and failed even with a short par putt, missing even a chance to finish second.
In 2008 and 2012, Shin Ji-ae, the champion of the tournament, continued to be strong in the AIG Women's Open by ranking third in the tournament last year and runner-up this year.
Im Jin-hee tied for 10th with a final 1-under 287 to achieve a major competition 'Top 10'.
As a result, the winners of this year's major tournaments are Nelly Koda of the Chevron Championship, Yuka Saso (Japan) of the US Women's Open, Yang Hee-young of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Ayaka Furue (Japan) of the Evian Championship, and Lydia Ko of the AIG Women's Open.
The winner of the Rolex Annika Major Award, which is given to the player with the best performance in the five major championships, will be given to Koda, who won one major championship and finished second this year.
hschung@sportschosun.com
