Tour Confidential: Lydia Ko’s hot run, mega-purses and Keegan Bradley…playing-captain?
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⊃Lydia Ko won the AIG Women’s Openfor her first major title in eight years. It was her first start since getting her final Hall of Fame qualifying point after winning the gold medal in Paris two weeks ago. She went toe-to-toe with World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who was looking for her second major of the season and seventh win overall and World No. 2 Lilia Vu in the final round. Where does this finish rank among the best major finishes this season (men or women)?
Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): There’s always some recency-bias with questions like this, but that was definitely one of the most — if not the most — exciting finishes of the year. The last few holes were incredible. The cast of characters, all of whom were seeking a third major title: Nelly, World No. 1 seeking her seventh win of the season and suffering a late back-nine disaster; Lydia, newly-minted future Hall of Famer coming off a gold medal at the Paris Olympics; Jiyai Shin, the resurgent veteran seeking a third Open; and World No. 2 Lilia Vu, all in the mix with four holes left to play. Then throw in the Old Course, wind and rain, and Lydia’s clutch birdie on 18, and I mean, WOW! What a way to cap the major season.
