Lydia Ko What's In The Bag And Player Profile

Lydia Ko ended an eight-year major drought, winning the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews after defending champion Lillia Vu took three putts from 15 feet on the final green

It marked a remarkable two weeks for Ko following her gold medal-winning performance at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Ko birdied the final hole for a round of 69 to finish the week on seven under par. She then had a nervous wait to see if Vu could match her. The American needed a birdie at the 18th to force a playoff but left her first putt short and then missed the next to hand the New Zealander a two-shot victory.

"It's surreal," said the 27-year-old. "Winning the gold medal in Paris was almost too good to be true. Heading into the weekend I thought 'how is it possible for me to win The Open?'. It is the most Cinderella-like story, these past two weeks.”

When asked where she would rank this victory, she replied: "That's like asking me who I like best, my mum or dad."

England's Lottie Woad won the Smyth Salver as low amateur, birdieing the last to finish on one under.

Ko was the youngest woman to win a major when she won the Evian Championship at the age of 18 in 2015. She followed that with victory in what is now the Chevron Championship in 2016 but, despite having 11 top-10 finishes in the majors since then, she had been unable to add to her tally.

World number one Nelly Korda looked to have taken control with a run of three birdies in four holes around the turn, and led by two on the 14th tee. But a couple of poor wedge shots around the green led to her taking seven shots on the par-five hole and she then bogeyed the 17th as she faded to finish alongside Vu, Ruoning Yin and Jiyai Shin in joint second on five under.

Ko, who was playing in the group ahead, made a great up and down for par from the back of 16 and then played a delightful second to the 17th, which set up a straightforward par to stay at six under. Her birdie on the last set the target at seven under and she watched from the practice putting green as Vu failed to match her three.

Player Profile

Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea on April 24, 1997 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.

She won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, which qualified 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 nearly $20m. Her success at St Andrews was her 21st victory and she has had 108 top-10 finishes.

Last 10 Results

AIG Women's Open - 1st

ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open - 9th

Olympic Games Women's Tournament - 1st

CPKC Women's Open - T8th

The Amundi Evian Championship - T39th

Dow Championship - T27th

KPMG Women's PGA Championship - T46th

U.S. Women's Open presented by Ally - CUT

Mizuho Americas Open - CUT

Cognizant Founders Cup - T35th

Key Stats

Driving Distance - 254.35 Yards

Driving Accuracy - 66.28%

Greens in Regulation - 67.88%

Sand Saves - 47.54%

Putts Per Round - 29.18

Scoring Average - 70.96

Lydia Ko - What's In The Bag

Driver: PING G430 MAX 10K

3-Wood: PING G430 MAX (15 Degrees)

Hybrids: PING G430 (19 & 22 Degrees)

Irons: PING i230 (5-7), PING Blueprint S (8 & 9)

Wedges: Vokey Design SM10 (44, 48, 54 & 58 Degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron P5 GSS

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Lydia Ko is also an Ambassador ECCO GOLF, wearing their Tray shoes in St Andrews. Timo Vollrath, Head of Global Marketing at ECCO GOLF, said: "We are incredibly proud of Lydia - to win an Olympic Gold medal and the Women’s Open just two weeks apart is an amazing achievement.

"It has been a real pleasure to work with Lyida over recent years, and to see her return to the winners circle in a major championship for the first time since 2016 is wonderful. We are looking forward to offering her our continued support going forward, and we are so pleased to have the chance to be even a small part of her career."