Lydia Ko secures 18th career win at BMW Ladies Championship, Choi Na-yeon makes hole-in-one on final appearance

Lydia Ko claimed an 18th career title when winning the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, while Choi Na-yeon signed off her career in style with a hole-in-one.

Ko has made New Zealand her home, moving to the country at the age of four, but she was born in South Korea and had huge support from the crowd as she claimed a four-shot win.

It was a blistering finish from Ko, who briefly gave hope to chasers Andrea Lee, Choi Hye-jin and Kim Hye-joo with a bogey on the seventh, as she made five birdies on the back nine in a round of 65.

“This is probably the best I’ve played, the most consistently I’ve played,” the 25-year-old Ko said. “I played the back nine really well in all four of my rounds, and I think that was the big key for me.”

Reflecting on the support for the galleries at Oak Valley Country Club, Ko said: “Every time I come back to Korea, even though I play under the New Zealand flag, so many people support me.

“That is such a boost.”

Final Leaderboard

• 1. Lydia Ko, 21-under
• 2. Andrea Lee, 17-under
• T3. Choi Hye-Jin, 16-under
• T3. Kim Hye-joo, 16-under
• T3. Lilia Vu, 16-under
• 6. Atthaya Thitikul, 13-under
• 7. Ariya Jutanugarn, 12-under

Choi Na-yeon was in tears as she stroked in her final putt on the 18th, to bring to an end a stellar career that yielded nine wins on the PGA Tour and major success at the 2012 US Women’s Open.

“That last putt,” Choi, who finished in a tie for 47th in her final appearance, said. “I couldn’t really see the ball because of my tears.”

Reflecting on her decision to retire at the age of 34, Choi said: “My only concern with this is that personally I think I got really worn out from the emotional side of being a golfer.

“For instance, if I don’t play well, then there’s stress, and I’m struggling with all these emotions. It kind of wore me down. My only concern is I might relate too much to the players or kids that I teach, and I do have a fear about me getting into that emotional cycle again.”

A day earlier, there were tears of joy and laughter as she holed her tee shot on the 12th – to win a BMW.

“Of course, whenever you ace a hole, you’re ecstatic,” Choi said. “But at the same time, for me, I think I got kind of emotional because it almost seemed like I was being rewarded for all those years of hard work.”