Women’s world no.1 Lydia Ko fired a final round of 68 to record a one-shot victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
Ko headed into the final day just one shot off the lead held by America’s Lilia Vu. The New Zealander got off to a good start with birdies at the first and sixth holes, but she still trailed Vu by two at the turn. But birdies at 10, 13 and 17 turned her fortunes around and saw her come home in 33 for a 21-under-par total , while Vu dropped shots on 10 and 18 to slip back into a share of third with Manon De Roey and Lexi Thompson.
India’s Aditi Ashok carded a closing 68 to take outright second. The Indian star made a bogey on the fifth hole, but soon rolled in three consecutive birdies on holes seven through nine before adding two more on 15 and 16.
“I’m two for two on this golf course,” said Ko. “Clearly something is going for me! This is a golf course where, in the last few days and when I played in 2021, there were a few players that went from the back that would shoot low scores, so I just wanted to focus on my game. I don’t think I was setting myself up for a lot of birdie opportunities on the front nine, but I knew that every hole could be a birdie opportunity, so it was that mindset and I wanted to be aggressive. The 18th hole was a lot uglier than I would have liked to picture, but in the end it’s definitely nice to get the win this week.”
