Record Breaking Ko Breaks Winless Drought

Lydia Ko claimed her first win in three years with a dominant seven shot victory at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.

Record Breaking Ko Breaks Winless Drought

The 23-year-old had started her final round just one shot clear of American Nelly Korda.

However, the former world number one dominated from the front, with a seven-under-par round meaning a seven shot victory and a tournament record score of 28-under.

Ko, who hadn't claimed victory in 1,084 days, started well, with birdies at the third and ninth giving her a four shot advantage going into the back nine.

A trio of birdies followed at the 10th, 11th and 12th to extend her lead even further from the chasing pack.

As several other players were going low in their rounds, including South Korean duo Inbee Park and Jenny Shin, who both shot 63. Nobody could get close to Ko, who had birdied the 14th and then the penultimate hole to shut the door on the rest of the competition.

The New Zealander, who had just one bogey during the tournament, is also a staggering 38-under-par through her last 90 holes.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Ko said she took inspiration from the recent drought-ending victories by Jordan Spieth (1,351 days) and Hideki Matsuyama (1,344 days).

"I think with Jordan Spieth and Hideki Matsuyama winning the last couple weeks and I know it's been a while since they won as well, that kind of gave me a little bit of hope saying maybe I could follow that trend.

The 23-year-old’s last victory was on the 29th April 2018, at the LPGA Mediheal Championship. During the three year period, Ko has made some changes, like the appointment of swing coach Sean Foley.

"Sean has really been helpful for me. Like every relationship between player and coach is different, and he's been great to just simplify everything for me. I'm very grateful for his advice both on and off the golf course."