Lydia Ko Wins Aramco Saudi Ladies International

Lydia Ko claimed her first win of the season as she emerged victorious in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, after an exhilarating final round where she battled against the world’s best with Aditi Ashok finishing second, one-shot behind the winner.

The champion began the final round just one-shot behind Lillian Vu but a final-round score of 68 helped Ko claim her 7th win on the Ladies European Tour and her second win in this tournament.

With several players in contention, it was a dramatic final round till the very end as leader, Ko, snap-hooked her ball from the 18th tee, causing a heart-in-mouth moment for the 25-year-old until her new caddie confirmed the ball was okay. 

Ko then laid-up from her lie in the heavy rough and then watched second place Vu go for the green in two on the par-five 18th, only to see her ball land in the water. Vu dropped five-yards closer before laying up short of the green and ended up finishing the tournament off with a bogey.

Ko sent her chip fizzing past the hole where it stopped on the fringe. But, a good two-putt from the New Zealander cemented her place at the top of the leaderboard and was visibly delighted to make it 26 professional wins.

“I’m two for two on this golf course so clearly something is going for me. You know, this is a golf course where in the last few days, when I played in 2021, there were a few players that went from back that would shoot low scores. So, I just wanted to focus on my game, I don't think I was setting myself up for a lot of birdie opportunities on the front nine but I knew that every hole could be a birdie opportunity so it was that kind of mindset and I wanted to be aggressive and 18 was a lot uglier than I would have pictured it up but it's definitely nice to get the win this week,” said Ko.

The World No.1 said a lot of great things happened in the last few months and is enjoying being out on the golf course, despite knowing the challenges in seeking the first win of the season but she confirmed that she wasn’t as nervous as some might have thought. 

“Yeah, I think I’ve just been very grateful. You know a lot of great things happening, especially in the last few months again and again and you don't know if this is real or not. 

“I’ve just been trying to enjoy being out on the golf course. You know, I’m playing with the world's best. The field this week was really good so I knew it was going to be a challenge. The first one of the year it's really hard cause you don't have anything to base yourself off, you don't know if you're going to play well or bad. But the start definitely helped and I think I stayed really patient and I was not as nervous as I thought I would be, which is definitely good,” added Ko.