WONJU, South Korea (AP) — Lydia Ko won her 18th career title in the country of her birth after completing a 7-under 65 final round at the BMW Ladies Championship on Sunday.
Ko finished the South Korea-based tournament with a 21-under 267, four strokes ahead of Andrea Lee, who had a final round of 3-under 69.
“This is probably the best I’ve played, the most consistently I’ve played,” Ko said.
“I feel so proud to be born in Korea. Because of that I really wanted to win here. It’s not only just a place that I’m born, but a lot of my family is still here.”
Lydia Ko gets her 18th Tour victory in Korea, a place dear to her heart.
RECAP ⬇️ https://t.co/2a7nuLSMQ0
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 24, 2022
“I played the back nine really well in all four of my rounds, and I think that was the big key for me.”
Ko slipped to 15 under when she had a bogey at the No. 7 before firing in six birdies to leave the rest of the pack behind.
“Every time I come back to Korea, even though I play under the New Zealand flag, so many people support me … I think that is such a boost,” Ko said.
There was a three-way tie for third place with Hye-Jin Choi, Hyo Joo Kim and Lilia Vu all ending up at 16-under 272.
Atthaya Thitikul, who carded a tournament record 9-under 63 on the first day, ended up fourth following a disappointing round of 2-over 74 on Sunday with five bogeys and only three birdies.
