Kroger Queen City Championship: Lydia Ko picks up third LPGA Tour title of the season
Lydia Ko overhauled a two-shot deficit to close with a nine-under 63 to win the Kroger Queen City Championship; Ko’s victory follows gold at the Paris Olympics and winning the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews
Lydia Ko picked up her third LPGA Tour title of the season when she won the Kroger Queen City Championship, closing with a nine-under 63, turning round a two-shot deficit.
Of her last four events, Ko has won three of them, which includes an Olympic gold medal victory at Paris 2024, amassing enough points for the LPGA Hall of Fame and winning the Women’s Open at St. Andrews.
Thitikul had a two-shot lead after eight holes of the final round. She made bogey on the par-four ninth. Ko made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 10th to tie for the lead, and then pulled ahead with a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-five 11th.
“It’s just like insane – it’s super insane. Her putter was on fire today,” Thitikul said of playing alongside Ko. “I respect her as like my older sister, as a legend, and also as my role model. It was such a really good experience watching her in my eyes on the same tee box, on the same greens, just like a VIP seat.”
Nelly Korda, the No 1 player in women’s golf who still has a comfortable lead in the Race to CME Globe with her six victories this year, had a 68 and tied for fifth, nine shots behind.
Ko next week heads to South Korea to play in the Hana Financial Group Championship. It will be a chance for her to reach 30 career titles worldwide.
Lydia Ko picked up right where she left off — winning. On the heels of an Olympic gold medal and the AIG Women’s British Open victory at St. Andrews, Ko added another first-place prize at the 2024 Kroger Queen City Championship, topping the field by five strokes after a three-week break. Incredibly, she had only one bogey the entire week at TPC River’s Bend.
In her post-round interview with Golf Channel’s Amy Rogers, Ko called this stretch of golf “surreal” and put any talk of retirement on a back burner with a newish goal.
“I think it’s always been the goal of mine to do the career grand slam,” said Ko, who currently owns three different majors. “I thought that would be so out there.
“I feel like I’ve already been part of this fairytale, so why not?”
Lydia Ko’s newest title: 2024 Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G Champion 🏆 pic.twitter.com/waAgCiVjS5
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 22, 2024
The newest member of the LPGA Hall of Fame now owns 22 LPGA career titles. She has three LPGA official wins this season, plus the gold medal. Ko closed with a 9-under 63 to run away from former No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul. Ko finished at 23 under for the tournament.
Kroger Queen City: Photos | Leaderboard
This marks the first time since 2016 – when she claimed the JTBC Classic and Chevron Championship titles – the 27-year-old Kiwi has won in back-to-back starts on the LPGA.
She joins Nelly Korda as the only other player with at least three wins this season. Korda, who finished in a share of fifth in Cincinnati, won six times in the first half of the season and leads the Rolex Player of the Year list by 100 points. (Ko did not receive any POY points for her gold-medal performance in Paris, though she did get that valuable LPGA Hall of Fame point.)
Ko starts the fall season the same way she ended the summer, on a hot streak, extending her top-10 run to her last five consecutive starts, including the Olympics.
World No. 1 Korda will have three weeks at home before heading to South Korea for the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship. The LPGA heads to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Sept. 27-29, before a four-event swing through China, Korea, Malaysia and Japan.
“I don’t think I had my best stuff, but played some solid golf here and there,” said Korda, who closed with a 68. “Definitely didn’t capitalize on the par-5s. I had a lot of irons in my hands and came out with pars. A little disappointing there.
“Overall, happy with the way I played coming off last week and my energy levels.”
South Korea’s Haeran Ryu birdied five consecutive holes on the back nine en route to a closing 67. She finished solo third.
Ko now immediately heads to South Korea to compete in the KLPGA’s Hana Financial Group Championship. As for retirement, Ko said she’s always looked up to the way Lorena Ochoa ended her career while still playing well. She’d rather leave the tour wondering if she could’ve won a few more rather than reach a point where she feels like she should’ve left the game long ago.
