Upon completing her dramatic final round to win the gold medal for New Zealand at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, Lydia Ko became the first golfer in the modern era to win bronze, silver, and gold in golf. In doing so, she clinched a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Here's what happened in an emotional Round 4 at Le Golf National.
Lydia Ko secures gold medal, LPGA Hall of Fame
Golf returned to the Olympics in Rio in 2016 after 112 years away. Ko won silver as a 19-year-old World No 1. She took home a bronze medal from Tokyo in 2021.
To qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, a golfer must accumulate 27 points. One point is earned for each LPGA win, an Olympics medal, a Vare Trophy (for lowest scoring average) or a Player of the Year award. Majors are worth two points. Ko, a 20-time LPGA winner, has been sitting on 26 points since her victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January. (A golfer must win at least one Vare, Player of the Year or major to be eligible.)
“To win the first event of the year at my home club at Lake Nona took the pressure off, and I knew that if I worked on the right things, one tournament could happen at any point,” Ko said following the final round. “Did I imagine that I was going to do it at the Paris Olympics? Probably not. But this is the coolest way to do it.”
The 27-year-old entered the final round at Le Golf National tied for the lead at 9-under par with Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux. Team USA's Rose Zhang and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita were two strokes back.
Metraux played her first five holes at 5-over. Ko came out shaky with a bogey, but stormed back with birdies on nos. 3, 7 and 9. She opened up a four-shot lead at the turn — the same scenario Spain's Jon Rahm found himself in six days earlier. (Of course, Rahm collapsed; opening the door for Scottie Scheffler.)
Sure enough, Ko found the water on no. 13, leading to a stress-inducing double-bogey. Around the same time, Esther Henseleit (Germany), playing a few groups ahead, birdied nos. 17 and 18 to crawl within one shot of the lead. Ko held firm, saving par on her next four holes, then making birdie on no. 18.
Ko's homestretch was emblematic of her week at Le Golf National — and her illustrious career: Steady under pressure. She carded 72-67-68-71 over the event, always looming around the top of the leaderboard. She led her 59 competitors in strokes gained: putting.
The final podium in Paris: Ko (-10, final round 1-under 71), Henseleit (-8, 66), China's Xiyu Liun (-7, 69).
Rose Zhang (-5, T8) was the top placer for Team USA in her first Olympics experience. World No. 1 and reigning gold medalist Nelly Korda finished 1-under, tied for 22nd. Lilia Vu (+5) was T36.
Ko will become the 35th inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame, first from New Zealand, and the first to enter since Mexico's Lorena Ochoa in 2022. She's also the first active LPGA star to qualify since Inbee Park in 2016.
“Cinderella’s glass slippers are see-through, and my podium shoes are also see-through,” added Ko. “I feel like I’m part of this story tale. Going into this week, everyone was saying, ‘Oh, what if you finish and collect all the Gold on top of the Silver and Bronze you have?’ Of course, I want to do that and complete it, too, but it’s much easier said than done.”
Nice little Saturday in Paris!
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