Women's Open: Lydia Ko adds silverware at St Andrews to Olympics gold

It was Ko who was a class apart, though.  A birdie on her final hole in a three-under 69 gave her the clubhouse lead at seven-under. There was a spell of thumb-twiddling and nail-nibbling to endure as she waited on the final groups to finish. That wait was worth it.

Ko eventually won by two shots from a posse that included the defending champion Lilia Vu, the world No 1 Nelly Korda, Jiyai Shin and Ruoning Yin.

It was a case of what might have been for those who came up short. Korda had been two shots clear with five to play until a ruinous double-bogey on the 14th opened the door for Ko. 

Vu, meanwhile, had a chance to force a play-off with a birdie opportunity on the last but ended up three-putting. It was all systems Ko.

On the kind of dour day in the Auld Grey Tour that makes you wonder what the point of summer is, even the sun came out for the prize giving ceremony to add some sparkle to Ko’s shimmering accomplishment.

This was the third major victory of a glory-laden, trailblazing career for Ko. It’s taken her a while to reach that figure, mind you. 

Her last one was in 2016 and seems so long ago you half expect the footage of that triumph to be housed in the dusty vaults of the National Film Registry.

In that eight-and-a-half-year spell, Ko has posted 11 top-10s, including five top-threes, in the majors. Good things come to those who wait.

“It feels like it was such a long time ago,” said the 27-year-old after finally bridging that major championship title gap. “I've had my fair share of ups and downs between 2015, 2016 to 2024. 

"A lot of things have happened. When things are going well, it's hard to think about when you're not playing well because all you're really doing is just enjoying that moment.

“And on the other hand, when things aren't going well, you feel like you're never going to get out of that lull.

“But heading into the weekend here I was in contention and I said, ‘how is it possible for me to win the AIG Women’s Open?’ I’ve had the most Cinderella-like story these past few weeks and this is almost too good to be true.”

The final day featured plenty of drama. It was a long day too. The last group, for instance, took almost two-and-a-half hours to reach the turn as affairs moved along with about as much pace as a narrow boat on the Norfolk Broads.

The ebb, flow, nip and tuck at the sharp end, though, was fascinating as the championship unravelled down the stretch.

Korda, aiming for her second major win of 2024, looked to be in control as she picked up three birdies in four holes around the turn. It all went to pot on the 14th, however, with a sloppy double-bogey which was greeted by astonished gasps from those peering on.

At one stage there were four players locked on the six-under mark. Ko was right in it when she cracked a bold driver off the fairway en route to a birdie on 14 but her first bogey of the day on the next kept the to-ing and fro-ing going.

Vu saw a birdie chance on 15 lip out as the destination of the title remained in the balance while Ko produced a brilliant approach to the treacherous 17th as the rain hammered down and made a vital par to set up a final hole assault. Her birdie on the 18th pushed her to the cusp of glory.

Korda’s stumble to the finish continued when she leaked another shot on the 17th while Shin, aiming to win the AIG Women’s Open for the third time, saw those ambitions thwarted with a damaging bogeys at 15 and 17.

It was Vu who became the one person who could spoil the Ko party. The 26-year-old holed a nerveless putt for par on the 17th to stay one shot behind, but she couldn’t muster a birdie on the last to force a sudden-death shoot-out and the title belonged to Ko.

The tears that poured out as she embraced her family could’ve caused flooding in the Swilcan Burn. 

As Ko celebrated, there was joy too for English amateur, Lottie Woad, who capped a thrilling week by sharing 10th place. It had been a super St Andrews Sunday.