Lydia Ko caps off a fantastic summer with Women’s Open victory-2024

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Lydia Ko caps off a fantastic summer with Women’s Open victory

It’s been a superb summer for Lydia Ko. Not only did she complete her Olympic set with her gold medal at the 2024 Paris games, she has now ended her eight year wait for a third major when she outlasted the conditions to win this year’s Women’s Open. 

Ko’s victory in Paris was enough for her to be inducted into Golf’s Hall of Fame, but with her third major victory, her first Open victory, Ko has now cemented her place in history. 

What makes Ko’s victory even sweeter is that it happened at the home of golf, St Andrew’s. The home of golfing immortality, it is everyone’s dream to win on the links where the game famously began. Ko has now achieved her dream and with rumours abound that she is considering exiting the game, it will be fascinating to see what she does next. 

With this year’s Women’s Open going down as one of the best in recent memory, here are our main talking points.

Lydia Ko caps off a fantastic summer with Women’s Open


Ko sheds underachiever tag with third major victory 

Having burst onto the scene as a teenager and winning her first major when she was just 18, it’s fair to say that many expected Lydia Ko to have won more than two majors. 

After going eight years without tasting major success, many in the game felt that Ko could add to her Olympic gold by winning this year’s Women’s Open at St Andrews.

With the wind blowing, it became apparent early that those who were able to shape the ball both ways would have a great chance of victory and that certainly played into Ko’s strengths. 

Although not the biggest of hitters, Ko is deadly accurate off the tee and throughout the week she was constantly able to keep her ball out of trouble and give herself plenty of looks for birdie. 

Heading into the final round having made just five bogeys, there was confidence that she would be able to overturn the one shot deficit that she had to overcome in the final round.

Showing that she was at home in the blustery conditions, she was able to par the first six holes and with others faltering, her birdie on the seventh saw her close the gap to her rivals at the top of the leaderboard.

Although she would give back that shot on the 11th, she would find another birdie on the 16th and it’s that birdie which would prove pivotal. 

Managing to safely navigate both the 17th and 18th in level par, her score of -7 would be the one that for the rest of the leaders would need to aim for.

With all of her rivals failing to find the birdies they so desperately needed, when her victory was confirmed Ko could barely believe it. Having thought her major days could have been behind her, her place as a modern great was now confirmed. The main question she now has to face is what happens next? 

With rumours that Ko doesn’t see herself playing beyond the age of thirty, many are wondering if this major will see her plans to walk away from the game accelerate. With her greatness confirmed, the world will await her next steps.

Ko sheds underachiever tag


Korda, Vu and a host of stars end up falling short 

With Ko showing that she was a master in the tough conditions, there were several others of the best players in the world who were struggling.

Nelly Korda looked to have the tournament at her mercy at the halfway stage, but after a difficult third round, she headed into the final round needing to chase down overnight leader Jiyai Shin.

Having been able to gain a huge advantage off the tee all week, it was on the greens where Korda was struggling. 

Despite making the turn in the lead, Korda’s quest for a first Women’s Open would unravel on the par five fourteenth. Finding trouble off the tee, Korda couldn’t get the vital putts to drop and would have to settle for a double bogey and would find herself right against it. Needing birdies, as she chased pins another error would follow and she would end up dropping another shot on the infamous 17th. 

Closing her tournament two behind, Korda will look back on this week as a case of what might have been. The dominant force on the LPGA Tour this season, she will have been disappointed that she wasn’t able to cap off a memorable season with a major. 

One player who deserves enormous credit for her performance last week is Lillia Vu. Heading into the week as the defending champion, St Andrew’s is a world away from the leafy confines of Woburn where she won her maiden major, but Vu was almost able to defend. 

Having been up with the leaders all week, Vu’s steady approach was serving her well. Finding herself well back in terms of driving distance, the world number two was exceptional from the fairways and on the greens, but she would finally succumb to the pressure on the back nine. 

Bogeying both the 10th and 11th holes, she would be able to recapture both shots with two birdies on the 12th and 13th holes. Being able to make pars all the way home to the 17th, Vu needed something special up the final hole, but her tournament would end in disappointment. 

Making a rare miss with her approach to 18, Vu was unable to make the birdie that would force a playoff and to rub salt into the wound, she would also miss her par putt. Seeing her chance of retaining her title going up in smoke, Vu would have been disappointed to have come so close to winning another major, but on reflection she can be proud of how close she came to landing one of the biggest prizes in the game.