Lydia Ko (click to enlarge)
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko showed why she is the best player in the world with clutch final round shots, including a fantastic chip-in eagle on the par 3 3rd hole, to claim victory at the 2015 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. The youngest ever golf world #1, male or female, notched her 6th LPGA title with a 9-under overall score, besting 2nd place South Korean Amy Yang by 2 shots. Ko began her day in a tie for 1st at 7-under with Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, but quickly separated herself as May suffered an error prone 18 holes, falling back to 4-under and a 3rd place finish at the end of 72 holes. Recently, Lydia has spoken of retiring at 30 to pursue another career. I hope not. She is beyond special. The young 17-year old Kiwi has the chance to rewrite every golf record.
Ariya Jutanugarn (click to enlarge)
I feel a bit indebted to Sei Young Kim. I didn’t cover her win at the 2015 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. I was so crushed to see Ariya Jutanugarn come up short in the playoff, I had neither energy nor emotion left to write anything. I felt a similar pain watching May fall out of contention in the final round here at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. I have to get over that. May has played brilliantly overall in 2015. She’s finished 11th, 2nd and 3rd in the first three events of the year. She’s 3rd in prizemoney, 2nd in the Race to CME Globe, 7th in scoring, 4th in Player of the Year points and 1st in Rookie of the Year points (although somehow she trails fellow rookie Sei Young Kim in Player of the Year points but leads her in Rookie of the Year points–LPGA might want to adjust their points system–theoretically, and actually, one rookie could win POY while another wins ROY–can’t have that). If you told me before the season began that May would play this well, I’d have been overjoyed. And so I am.
ALL PICS CLICK TO ENLARGE
1 LYDIA KO (-9)
2 AMY YANG (-7)
3 ARIYA JUTANUGARN (-4)
T4 CHELLA CHOI (-2)
T4 JENNY SHIN (-2)
| Pos | Name | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Today | Total | Strokes | Purse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lydia Ko | 70 | 70 | 72 | 71 | -2 | -9 | 283 | $180,000 |
| 2 | Amy Yang | 73 | 70 | 70 | 72 | -1 | -7 | 285 | $110,822 |
| 3 | Ariya Jutanugarn | 69 | 71 | 72 | 76 | +3 | -4 | 288 | $80,393 |
| T4 | Jenny Shin | 76 | 71 | 74 | 69 | -4 | -2 | 290 | $51,067 |
| T4 | Ilhee Lee | 68 | 82 | 69 | 71 | -2 | -2 | 290 | $51,067 |
| T4 | Chella Choi | 72 | 75 | 71 | 72 | -1 | -2 | 290 | $51,067 |
| T4 | Minjee Lee | 76 | 71 | 72 | 71 | -2 | -2 | 290 | $27,728 |
| T8 | Charley Hull | 71 | 71 | 76 | 73 | E | -1 | 291 | $27,728 |
| T8 | Paz Echeverria | 71 | 76 | 71 | 73 | E | -1 | 291 | $27,728 |
| T8 | Ha Na Jang | 71 | 69 | 76 | 75 | +2 | -1 | 291 | $27,728 |
| T8 | Julieta Granada | 73 | 72 | 70 | 76 | +3 | -1 | 291 | $27,728 |
| T12 | Mika Miyazato | 73 | 74 | 74 | 71 | -2 | E | 292 | $19,355 |
| T12 | Q Baek | 77 | 72 | 71 | 72 | -1 | E | 292 | $19,355 |
| T12 | Jessica Korda | 72 | 71 | 75 | 74 | +1 | E | 292 | $19,355 |
| T12 | Gwladys Nocera | 71 | 73 | 74 | 74 | +1 | E | 292 | $19,355 |
| T16 | Karrie Webb | 73 | 78 | 71 | 71 | -2 | +1 | 293 | $15,472 |
| T16 | Marianne Skarpnord | 75 | 72 | 73 | 73 | E | +1 | 293 | $15,472 |
| T16 | Beatriz Recari | 75 | 71 | 72 | 75 | +2 | +1 | 293 | $15,472 |
| T16 | Katherine Kirk | 72 | 73 | 70 | 78 | +5 | +1 | 293 | $15,472 |
| 20 | Pernilla Lindberg | 76 | 74 | 71 | 73 | E | +2 | 294 | $13,955 |
| T21 | Tiffany Joh | 72 | 75 | 76 | 72 | -1 | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T21 | Shanshan Feng | 74 | 74 | 74 | 73 | E | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T21 | Sydnee Michaels | 73 | 76 | 73 | 73 | E | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T21 | So Yeon Ryu | 77 | 74 | 71 | 73 | E | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T21 | Melissa Reid | 71 | 74 | 75 | 75 | +2 | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T21 | Beth Allen | 78 | 71 | 70 | 76 | +3 | +3 | 295 | $12,287 |
| T27 | Laetitia Beck | 78 | 71 | 73 | 74 | +1 | +4 | 296 | $10,314 |
| T27 | Mo Martin | 77 | 73 | 72 | 74 | +1 | +4 | 296 | $10,314 |
| T27 | Catriona Matthew | 74 | 74 | 72 | 76 | +3 | +4 | 296 | $10,314 |
| T30 | Marina Alex | 72 | 77 | 73 | 75 | +2 | +5 | 297 | $9,162 |
| T30 | Marion Ricordeau | 72 | 73 | 76 | 76 | +3 | +5 | 297 | $9,162 |
| T30 | Mina Harigae | 75 | 71 | 73 | 78 | +5 | +5 | 297 | $9,162 |
| T33 | Katie Burnett | 74 | 75 | 78 | 71 | -2 | +6 | 298 | $7,933 |
| T33 | Amy Anderson | 77 | 72 | 77 | 72 | -1 | +6 | 298 | $7,933 |
| T33 | Ssu-Chia Cheng | 76 | 73 | 77 | 72 | -1 | +6 | 298 | $7,933 |
| T33 | Holly Clyburn | 73 | 75 | 75 | 75 | +2 | +6 | 298 | $7,933 |
| T37 | Mariajo Uribe | 72 | 76 | 79 | 72 | -1 | +7 | 299 | $6,720 |
| T37 | Sarah Kemp | 77 | 73 | 77 | 72 | -1 | +7 | 299 | $6,720 |
| T37 | Alena Sharp | 70 | 78 | 75 | 76 | +3 | +7 | 299 | $6,720 |
| T37 | Mi Hyang Lee | 75 | 70 | 76 | 78 | +5 | +7 | 299 | $6,720 |
| T41 | Min Seo Kwak | 70 | 81 | 75 | 74 | +1 | +8 | 300 | $5,825 |
| T41 | Kelly Tan | 74 | 73 | 75 | 78 | +5 | +8 | 300 | $5,825 |
| T41 | Rachel Hetherington | 73 | 78 | 71 | 78 | +5 | +8 | 300 | $5,825 |
| T44 | Cheyenne Woods | 74 | 75 | 80 | 72 | -1 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Karine Icher | 75 | 73 | 79 | 74 | +1 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Chloe Leurquin | 75 | 75 | 77 | 74 | +1 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Lisa McCloskey | 75 | 76 | 76 | 74 | +1 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Alison Walshe | 74 | 75 | 77 | 75 | +2 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Anne-Lise Caudal | 75 | 75 | 76 | 75 | +2 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Ayako Uehara | 72 | 75 | 78 | 76 | +3 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Ai Miyazato | 73 | 75 | 77 | 76 | +3 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Kylie Walker | 75 | 73 | 77 | 76 | +3 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T44 | Nikki Garrett | 79 | 72 | 74 | 76 | +3 | +9 | 301 | $4,556 |
| T54 | Sophie Walker | 73 | 76 | 78 | 75 | +2 | +10 | 302 | $3,580 |
| T54 | Christina Kim | 74 | 71 | 81 | 76 | +3 | +10 | 302 | $3,580 |
| T54 | Maria McBride | 74 | 77 | 74 | 77 | +4 | +10 | 302 | $3,580 |
| T57 | Min Lee | 72 | 78 | 81 | 72 | -1 | +11 | 303 | $3,580 |
| T57 | Ju Young Park | 73 | 78 | 79 | 73 | E | +11 | 303 | $3,155 |
| T57 | Maria Hernandez | 75 | 74 | 80 | 74 | +1 | +11 | 303 | $3,155 |
| T57 | Kristy McPherson | 75 | 76 | 77 | 75 | +2 | +11 | 303 | $3,155 |
| T61 | Wei-Ling Hsu | 78 | 73 | 80 | 73 | E | +12 | 304 | $2,943 |
| T61 | Na Yeon Choi | 74 | 74 | 73 | 83 | +10 | +12 | 304 | $2,943 |
| 63 | Kendall Dye | 78 | 71 | 80 | 76 | +3 | +13 | 305 | $2,852 |
| 64 | Christine Wolf | 75 | 72 | 78 | 81 | +8 | +14 | 306 | $2,791 |
| 65 | Rebecca Artis | 72 | 77 | 80 | 78 | +5 | +15 | 307 | $2,730 |
| T66 | Garrett Phillips | 74 | 77 | 79 | 78 | +5 | +16 | 308 | $2,579 |
| T66 | Ann-Kathrin Lindner | 78 | 73 | 79 | 78 | +5 | +16 | 308 | $2,579 |
| T66 | Karlin Beck | 74 | 77 | 77 | 80 | +7 | +16 | 308 | $2,579 |
| T66 | Amy Boulden | 77 | 74 | 77 | 80 | +7 | +16 | 308 | $2,579 |
| T70 | Kris Tamulis | 75 | 76 | 82 | 76 | +3 | +17 | 309 | $2,412 |
| T70 | Brooke Pancake | 71 | 78 | 83 | 77 | +4 | +17 | 309 | $2,412 |
| 72 | Mallory Blackwelder | 75 | 75 | 78 | 82 | +9 | +18 | 310 | $2,366 |
| 73 | Christel Boeljon | 76 | 73 | 82 | 81 | +8 | +20 | 312 | $2,336 |
| WD | Lisa Ferrero | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | – |
| WD | Christine Song | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | WD | – |
| T74 | Whitney Hillier | 78 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Jennifer Johnson | 76 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Therese Koelbaek | 75 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Becky Morgan | 76 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Ryann O’Toole | 72 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Dewi Claire Schreefel | 77 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T74 | Sakura Yokomine | 77 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | 152 | – |
| T81 | Simin Feng | 76 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T81 | Sophie Gustafson | 76 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T81 | Eun-Hee Ji | 76 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T81 | Shelly Shin | 79 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T81 | Kelly Shon | 75 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T81 | Jennifer Song | 74 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 153 | – |
| T87 | Julia Boland | 78 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Danah Bordner | 74 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Dori Carter | 76 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Valentine Derrey | 75 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Moriya Jutanugarn | 77 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | I.K. Kim | 77 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Seon Hwa Lee | 75 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Amelia Lewis | 77 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Haru Nomura | 74 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Kristie Smith | 82 | 72 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T87 | Sarah Jane Smith | 78 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 154 | – |
| T98 | Connie Chen | 77 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Emma De Groot | 78 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Tamie Durdin | 82 | 73 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Jennifer Gleason | 74 | 81 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Lorie Kane | 74 | 81 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Stacey Keating | 81 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Kubo Keiko | 77 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Ye Jin Kim | 79 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Caroline Masson | 78 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Belen Mozo | 77 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Jane Park | 78 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Jennifer Rosales | 77 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Marta Sanz Barrio | 75 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T98 | Jackie Stoelting | 77 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 155 | – |
| T112 | Bree Arthur | 80 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Cathryn Bristow | 77 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Kim Kaufman | 78 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Caroline Martens | 79 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Sophia Popov | 80 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Karin Sjodin | 82 | 74 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Jessica Speechley | 80 | 76 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T112 | Jaclyn Sweeney | 81 | 75 | MC | MC | – | – | 156 | – |
| T120 | Doey Choi | 78 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Jaye Marie Green | 79 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Danielle Montgomery | 79 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Su-Hyun Oh | 79 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Gerina Piller | 75 | 82 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Marissa Steen | 79 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T120 | Thidapa Suwannapura | 78 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 157 | – |
| T127 | Isabelle Boineau | 77 | 81 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Liv Cheng | 79 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Corie Hou | 78 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Camilla Lennarth | 76 | 82 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Kono Matsumoto | 78 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Stephanie Na | 80 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Paula Reto | 79 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| T127 | Giulia Sergas | 79 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 158 | – |
| 135 | Demi Runas | 79 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 159 | – |
| T136 | Joanna Klatten | 81 | 79 | MC | MC | – | – | 160 | – |
| T136 | N Thangaraja | 75 | 85 | MC | MC | – | – | 160 | – |
| T138 | Laura Davies | 81 | 80 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T138 | Perrine Delacour | 83 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T138 | Florentyna Parker | 84 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T138 | Sadena Parks | 83 | 78 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T138 | Yani Tseng | 79 | 82 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T138 | Alison Whitaker | 80 | 81 | MC | MC | – | – | 161 | – |
| T144 | Carly Booth | 76 | 86 | MC | MC | – | – | 162 | – |
| T144 | Jenna Hunter | 85 | 77 | MC | MC | – | – | 162 | – |
| T144 | Vicky Thomas | 80 | 82 | MC | MC | – | – | 162 | – |
| 147 | SoJin Baik | 74 | 89 | MC | MC | – | – | 163 | – |
| T148 | Cherie Alison | 78 | 87 | MC | MC | – | – | 165 | – |
| T148 | Lee-Anne Pace | 82 | 83 | MC | MC | – | – | 165 | – |
| 150 | Breanna Elliott | 82 | 84 | MC | MC | – | – | 166 | – |
| 151 | Hannah Collier | 86 | 83 | MC | MC | – | – | 169 | – |
| 152 | Julie Greciet | 87 | 87 | MC | MC | – | – | 174 | – |
| 153 | Line Vedel | 79 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | 79 | – |
| 154 | P.K. Kongkraphan | 85 | WD | WD | WD | – | – | 85 |
Fairways and Forehands 