Lydia Ko wins Olympic gold, qualifies for LPGA Hall of Fame

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Lydia Ko completed her Olympic medal haul Saturday with the most valuable of all, a gold medal that puts the 27-year-old Kiwi in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Ko built five shots back at Le Golf National as his closest followers fell, and he had to wait until the end. With his lead down to one, Ko birdied the par-5 18th, hit a par to 7 feet and birdied for a 1-under 71 and a two-shot victory.

Ko won a silver medal in Rio de Janeiro. He won bronze in Tokyo. The lost proved worth more than its weight in gold. The victory brought his career total to 27 points for the LPGA Hall of Fame, one of the strongest ways for any hall of fame.

Germany’s Esther Henseleit finished with a birdie-birdie 66 to put Ko in charge. He also included silver. China’s Xiyu Lin carded a final hole 69 to take the bronze.

For Nelly Korda, Rose Zhang, Morgane Metraux and many others, it was a day to forget. They were all in the lead. They all fell with big mistakes that paved the way for Ko.

This is the latest accolade in an impressive career for Ko, who won his first LPGA title as a 15-year-old junior and rose to world No. 1 for the first time at the age of 17. He started this year with a win, leaving him with one point in the Hall.

To cross the line with Olympic gold?

“It would be a very bad way to do that,” Ko said earlier in the week.

He had a great game, finishing at 10-under 278 on a course that featured a lot of rough and tumble over 10 holes, especially at the end when the pressure was greatest.

Ko becomes the 35th player to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, and the second-youngest behind Australian champion Karrie Webb to reach the 27-point requirement — two points in each of her majors, one point in her other victory -18 on the LPGA, one point to win the LPGA Player of the Year (twice) and the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average (twice).

And one big point for Olympic gold.

Ko needed just two putts from short range to win, and when the putt fell, she put her hand over her mouth and soon began to cry.

The last round was harder than it needed to be. Ko was ahead of the chasing pack when suddenly, shockingly, it was done for everyone but him.

China’s Ruoning Yin, who had a one-shot lead, birdied two of three holes after making a chance. Hannah Green was trailing until her tee shot went left into the water on the 10th for a double bogey, spoiling her courageous comeback from a 77 in the opening round.

Miyu Yamashita and Rose Zhang played tennis on the ninth green, jumping from one side of the green to the other, back and forth, until both made a double bogey.

And just like that, Ko was five out of the field and the end of the drama seemed to be a wild race for two more medals. At one point, 12 players were split into two shots equal to B-Flight.

If only it were that easy for Ko.

He was cruising, birdie-checking every hole, until he found the water on the 13th for a double bogey. That got him to three shots, still safe until Henseleit made Ko’s best play down the stretch.

Ko suddenly had a one-shot lead and was playing oil on the green, twice leaving himself with 3 1/2-foot par putts. He made it all the way to the 5th 18th, an easy Saturday at Le Golf National, needing only cash to get all the rewards.

Then came the separation of copper. The pint-sized Yamashita had a big game, two off the lead, until he bogeyed the par-3 16th for double bogey. He had a chance to force a playoff for bronze until he missed a 35-foot eagle putt on 18.

She finished one shot off the podium with a 73, along with Green (69), Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines (68) and PGA Women’s winner Amy Yang (69).

Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf and a gold medalist at the Tokyo Games, was at the meet until the timeout. This time, he hit the water on the 15th for triple bogey. He closed with 75. For the week, Korda had a triple bogey on the 15th, a quadruple bogey on the 16th and a pair of three-putts bogey on the 17th.

“I played hard until the last few holes,” he said. “And, I guess that was the story of my week. Other than that, I played solid golf.”

Green was 12 shots ahead after an opening 77. He was two shots behind, on the podium, when he turned. His last chance was a birdie on the 18th, but he drove into the rough and hit a weak wedge to the green.

Zhang closed with a 74 with two birdies in the final three holes. Metraux, who tied for the lead with Ko on the final day, didn’t make a birdie until the 15th hole and shot a 79.

In the end, the stage, the platform — and the temple — all belonged to Ko.