Ko makes golf history on Coquitlam course

 

 
 
 
 
Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open while being sprayed with water on the 18th green by Jessica Korda and Stacey Lewis at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club on Sunday.
 

Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open while being sprayed with water on the 18th green by Jessica Korda and Stacey Lewis at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club on Sunday.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen , PNG

It was a day of improbable firsts on Sunday for Lydia Ko.

The 15-year-old became the youngest player ever to win an LPGA Tour event, as she bested a field that included 48 of the top 50 players on this year's money list to capture the CN

Canadian Women's Open at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club.

Ko entered play Sunday atop the leaderboard with a onestroke advantage over Stacy Lewis, and fired a sizzling seven birdies to solidify her final four-day tally of 13-under par 275.

"It's great to win, and the last few holes it got a bit nerve-wracking, but Stacy Lewis after my birdie on 15, she said, 'you know you can do it,'" Ko told reporters after her historic win. "It feels amazing - It's always awesome to be able to play with the pros."

Ko is the first amateur since JoAnne Carner in 1969 to win an LPGA Tour event and the first amateur in tournament history to win Canada's National Women's Open Championship title.

Having left her native South Korea for New Zealand about 10 years ago, Ko also claimed the Marlene Stewart Streit low amateur medal as the tournament's top amateur.

At 15 years, four months and two days, Ko becomes the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history, eclipsing the previous mark set by Lexi Thompson, who was 16 years, eight months and eight days when she won the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic.

She also becomes only the fifth amateur in LPGA Tour history to win an official event and the first since Carner claimed the Burdine's Invitational in 1969.

As an amateur, Ko was unable to accept the $300,000 winners' cheque, which was awarded to Inbee Park as the second-place finisher.

Meanwhile, the area's lone local competitor, Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel, shot 77-78-155 to finish 11 over par, and missed the cut.

And while Ko got her time in the limelight Sunday, so too did the golf course itself, a point that wasn't lost on tournament chair Paul Batchelor.

"This was beyond our expectations and in fact, the tournament absolutely exceeded anything we could have hoped for," he told The NOW Monday. "The weather, the stories and the look of our course on TV were fantastic."

Batchelor pegged preliminary attendance estimates in the range of about 10,000 people over the course of the tournament, and basked in the fact that major U.S. cable networks like CNN and the Golf Channel picked up on Ko's story during Sunday's final round.

"These are not names that are usually synonymous with Canadian golf," he said.

sports@thenownews.com

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open while being sprayed with water on the 18th green by Jessica Korda and Stacey Lewis at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club on Sunday.
 

Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open while being sprayed with water on the 18th green by Jessica Korda and Stacey Lewis at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club on Sunday.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen , PNG

 
Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open while being sprayed with water on the 18th green by Jessica Korda and Stacey Lewis at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club on Sunday.
Lydia Ko discusses her tee shot with caddie Brian Alexander at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club during the second day of competition at the CN Canadian Women's Open.
Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open by hoisting the trophy skyward on the 18th green at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club.
Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open by kissing the championship trophy on the 18th green at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club.
Lydia Ko celebrates winning the CN Canadian Women's Open by hoisting the trophy skyward on the 18th green at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel watches her drive at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel gets some advice from her caddie at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel takes a shot from the fairway at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel takes a shot from the fairway at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Family and friends gathered at Coquitlam's Vancouver Golf Club to cheer on Coquitlam native Jisoo Keel.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel takes a shot at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Coquitlam's Jisoo Keel putting at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Hee Kyung Seo from South Korea eyes up her putt at the 18th hole at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Sun Young Yoo from South Korea putts at the 18th hole during the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Spectators watch golfers chip to the green on the 18th hole at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
Hee Kyung Seo from South Korea celebrates with her caddy after a great putt on the 18th hole at the CN Canadian Women's Open on Thursday, Aug. 23.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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