Life is so good for Lydia Ko right now that she sometimes wonders if it’s real. The Kiwi, fresh off a honeymoon that included eight rounds of golf and an ace, won her first start of the season at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International.
Ko won $750,000 for her efforts, which follows a record-setting $2 million first-place prize at last year’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. While she didn’t earn a coveted LPGA Hall of Fame point for this week’s victory – a Ladies European Tour-Sanctioned event – Ko marches into next week’s event in Thailand in a terrific frame of mind. She needs two more points to qualify for the LPGA Hall. A regular-season LPGA tournament is worth one point and majors are worth two.
“I think I’ve just been very grateful,” she said. “A lot of great things happening, especially in the last few months again and again.”
𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝒀𝑫𝑰𝑨 𝑲𝑶 𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑾 🙌
The world number one wins @AramcoLadiesInt for a second time 🏆#RaiseOurGame | #AramcoSaudiLadiesIntl pic.twitter.com/WfJc5Ot2LS
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) February 19, 2023
World No. 1 Ko, who has now won in three of her last four starts worldwide, took the lead from American Lilia Vu on the penultimate hole with birdie, going to the 18th tee tied with the former UCLA star. With India’s Aditi Ashok in the clubhouse at 20 under, Ko and Vu stood at 21 under with only a par 5 left to play.
After Ko rather shockingly duck-hooked her tee shot off the 18th, Vu hit her second shot into the water as she tried to reach the green in two. While Ko managed to recover and record a par, Vu’s closing bogey dropped her into a share of third. That left Ashok alone in second place, worth $450,000. Ashok won the season-opening Magical Kenya Ladies Open and took home 45,000 euros. The Indian joked that she had no designs on any upcoming spending sprees.
“I mean, I watch a lot of movies and stuff,” she said, “so maybe trying to get more streaming services because I only get one for right now. Maybe I’ll get all of them. That’s it.”
The Saudis Ladies International featured 15 of the top 30 players in the Rolex Rankings. The $5 million prize fund, which now matches that of the men’s event in Saudi, is the largest purse in women’s golf outside of the majors and the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship ($7 million). The LET’s Saudi-backed events, which total six in 2023, remains controversial given the…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golfweek…