Lydia Ko completes NZ golf’s finest year
Lydia Ko – Getty Images
Lydia Ko has completed a remarkable year for herself and New Zealand golf with a two-shot victory over Leona Maguire at the LPGA’s season ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples in Florida.
Ko’s win, along with Steve Alker’s domination of the PGA Tour Champions and Ryan Fox’s runner-up finish to Rory McIlroy in the season long European Tour points table, continues New Zealand’s finest collective year in professional golf.
Ko began to day’s final round in a share of the lead with Ireland’s Leona Maguire and although she fell behind with a bogey at the first, she was able finish the opening nine with a one shot lead and with birdies at the 16th and 17th holes she broke two clear and maintained that to the finish.
“I really wanted to play the best golf I can, and there were so many big names that were chasing Leona and I, so I knew that it would be a tough battle,” said Ko. “Especially with how tough the conditions were as well, but I just tried to focus on my game.
“It didn’t matter if somebody made a bogey or a birdie. I just wanted to make my share of birdies, and if I did make a mistake, to know that there was another hole I could recover from.
“This year has been an incredible year. I really could never ask for more to win so early in the season and then to have won in Korea and then win the last event of the year. I couldn’t have drawn it up any better. There has been so many exciting things in my life that’s been going on.
“It will be my last win as a single lady (cheering). So I wanted to do this for my family. This has been one of the most consistent and solid years I’ve had. I’m excited that my photo from winning here in 2014 with the glasses could get updated (laughing). Better photo this year.”
The US$2 million Ko earned for her victory (the largest ever winning cheque in the women’s game) takes her to US$4.3 million for the 2022 season and past Australia’s Minjee Lee who had led for so much of the year as a result of a fine first half of the year including a win in the lucrative US Women’s Open.
Ko finished the season with eleven top tens in addition to her three victories and atop most of the more significant categories, including Race to the Globe, Player of the Year, Money list and Scoring average honours.
Minjee Lee continued a disappointing finish to the year after what had been a brilliant first half. The Perth golfer finished in a share of 33rd this week with her fellow West Australian Hannah Green.
After dominating the LPGA Tour through the first six months of 2022 when recording two wins, two runner-up finishes and one 3rd place, Lee’s form dropped away over the latter stages of the season, recording just one top ten in her last nine starts.
Her win at the female game’s most significant event cannot be underestimated, however, and although a season of two halves, it has still been a fine season both financially and personally.
