SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — One gold short of the Olympic medal collection, one win away from the LPGA Hall of Fame, Lydia Ko pondered what it would be like to knock out both at the same time and said when she arrived, “It would be a hell of a way to do it.”
What the 27-year-old Kiwi didn’t share was her decision that the Paris Games would be her last Olympics. The goal Saturday in the women’s golf competition was never more clear.
“I knew the next 18 holes were going to be some of the most important 18 holes of my life,” Ko said. “I knew being in this position was once in a lifetime.”
She delivered a dream finish at Le Golf National with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory. The win pushed her career total to 27 points for the LPGA Hall of Fame, one of the strictest criteria for any shrine.
Esther Henseleit of Germany finished birdie-birdie for a 66 to make Ko work for it. Henseleit wound up with the silver. Xiyu Lin of China birdied the final hole for a 69 to take the bronze.
“I kept telling myself, ‘I get to write my own ending.’ I wanted to be the one that was going to control my own fate,” Ko said. “To have it end this way, it’s honestly a dream come true.”
Ko won the silver medal in Rio de Janeiro. She won the bronze in Tokyo. The missing one turned out to be more valuable than its weight in gold.
For Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang, Morgane Metraux and so many others, it was a day to forget. All of them were in range early. All of them fell back with mistakes that paved the way for Ko.
This is the latest prize in a remarkable career for Ko, who won her first LPGA title as a 15-year-old amateur and rose to No. 1 in the world for the first time at 17. She began this year with a victory in Florida, leaving her one point short of the Hall, and had a spell this summer when she doubted she would get the last one.
Ko becomes the 35th player to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the second-youngest behind Australian great Karrie Webb to earn the required 27 points — two points for each of her two majors, one point for her other 18 LPGA victories, one point for winning LPGA Player of the Year (twice) and for the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average (twice).
And one big point for Olympic gold.
Ko needed only two putts from short range to win, and when the putt fell, she stepped away with her hand over her mouth and it wasn’t long before she began to sob.
The final round was harder than it needed to be. Ko was ahead of a tight chasing pack when it suddenly, shockingly, came undone for everyone but her.
Ruoning Yin of China, who got to within one shot of the lead, bogeyed two of three holes after she made the turn. Hannah Green was two behind until her tee shot went left into the water on the 10th for a double bogey, ruining her bold comeback from a 77 in the opening round.
