27 Aug 2012

Ko wins in Canada to make more golfing history

10:56 am on 27 August 2012

The teenage New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has again made history - Ko's become the youngest player to win on the LPGA Tour, after blitzing the field in the final round to win the Canadian Women's Open in Vancouver by three shots.

The 15-year-old fired a sizzling five under par 67 to finish 13 under overall and eclipse Lexi Thompson's record as the youngest winner by more than one year. Thompson was 16 years, eight months and eight days old when she won the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic, while Ko's 15 years, four months and two days old.

She also becomes the first New Zealander, as well as only the fifth amateur, to claim an LPGA title - the last was JoAnne Carner in the 1969 Burdine's Invitational.

Ko is already the youngest winner of a professional tournament, and two weeks ago she became the US Women's Amateur champion.

Ko led outright by one stroke going into the final day and was pegged back with up to four players sharing top spot on the leaderboard, but she pulled away on the back nine with a string of five birdies.

As an amateur Ko misses out on the winner's purse, worth $350,000.

South Korea's Inbee Park was second, with three more South Koreans in third equal - a massive five strokes behind Ko.