Lydia Ko Completes Set of Olympic Medals With Gold in Paris

Lydia Ko completed her set of Olympic medals, striking gold as she won the women’s tournament at the Olympic Games at Le Golf National by two shots.

Ko, from New Zealand, carded a one-under 71 in her final round for a winning total of 10 under par, with Germany's Esther Henseleit taking silver at eight under overall and China's Lin Xiyu collecting bronze, a further stroke adrift. 

Former world number one Ko, 27, took silver in Rio in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo three years ago, and the victory qualifies her for the Ladies Professional Golf Association Hall of Fame.

"I had the most unbelievable experience in my three times playing the Olympics," said Ko. "I kept telling myself, 'I'm so proud of myself'. I don't ever really say that. I feel like that's a weird thing to tell yourself, but I kept saying I'm proud of myself no matter what happens. To be holding gold right now, it's crazy. I can't believe it."

Great Britain's Charley Hull finished one over after an impressive final round to finish in a tie for 27th, while her team-mate Georgia Hall was in a tie for 36th. Ireland's Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire were 39th and 59th respectively.

Two-time major champion Ko started her final round with a share of the overnight lead with Morgane Metraux. But dropped shots on the first two holes plus a triple-bogey seven on the fifth meant the Swiss golfer slipped down the leaderboard before she eventually signed for a seven-over 79 - leaving herself in a tie for 18th.

American Rose Zhang also struggled in the last group and was four over par on the front nine, to end up in a tie for eighth. And Ko, the only player not to drop away badly from the last three groups, was able to capitalise fully despite seeing a five-shot lead reduced dramatically on the back nine after finding water on the 13th, on the way to a double bogey of her own.

There were also nervous par putts on the 15th and 16th greens but she secured gold in style with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole. 

What You Need to Know About Lydia Ko

Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 24, 1991 but grew up in New Zealand.

She first reached number one in the world rankings on February 2, 2015, aged just 17 years, 9 months and 9 days, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf.

Until 2017, she was the youngest ever (age 15) to win an LPGA Tour event. In August 2013, she became the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events. 

Upon winning The Evian in France on September 13, 2015, she became the youngest woman, at age 18 years, 4 months and 20 days, to win a major championship. Her closing round of 63 was a record lowest final round in the history of women's golf majors, but she lowered that with a 62 at the 2021 ANA Inspiration. She had previously won the same event in 2016 for her second consecutive major championship, where she also became the youngest player to win two women's major championships.

In 2014, Ko was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. In 2014 and 2015, she was named in the EspnW Impact25 list of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact for women in sports.

In 2016, Ko was named Young New Zealander of the Year and in the 2019 New Year Honours she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to golf.

In November 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship  with its $2 million first prize, completing the season with three wins, the LPGA Player of the Year award, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, the 2022 leading money winner and rose to number two in the world rankings.

Her victory at the Olympic Games qualifies her for the LPGA Hall of Fame, the 35th and youngest inductee at age 27. Combined with her bronze from the Tokyo games and silver from Rio in 2016 she is the first golfer in the modern era to achieve all three medals at three different Olympic Games.

She has career earnings of $17.7m, has won 20 times on the LPGA Tour and has had 107 top-10 finishes.

She averages 253.19 yards from the tee, finds 64.37% of fairways and hits 66.33% of greens in regulation. She averages 28.94 putts per round, gets up and down from the sand 47.17% of the time and has a scoring average of 71.04.