Win returns Ko to No. 1 spot

Lydia Ko didn’t just win the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship. Telling reporters afterwards her concentration was firmly on winning Sunday, with the boost in ranking an added bonus!

“‘The winning part is probably the most memorable”.

“I chipped in on 11 and I think that gave me a few momentum,”Ko said in a post-round interview with the LPGA, when asked about her strong performance on the back nine”.

“I mis-hit it a little bit”, Ko said.

“There’s so many top players at the top of the leaderboard, so it’s hard to say that I’ve got the trophy right now for tomorrow”.

Besides securing the top-ranking in the world, the New Zealand superstar is now leading the pack in the Race to the CME Globe standings, official prize money list, scoring average and Rolex Player of the Year points. Park skipped her title defense at Miramar to play in a Korea LPGA event, where she tied for second Sunday. “And to have won my first professional event as a professional here in Taiwan and then had my 10th LPGA win here, it’s pretty cool”, she said.

Ko’s first term as world No. 1 was earlier this year.

Her victory continues what has already been an historic season for Ko. Park moved back in front with her major victory in the Women’s PGA Championship in June in New York.

At 18 years, 6 months, 1 day, Ko is the youngest player to win 10 events on any major tour.

She made an incredibly hot start, with birdies at the par-five second, par-three third, par-four fifth and par-five sixth to open up a six-shot lead.

Ko, who overtook halfway leader Ji Eun-Hee of South Korea on Saturday, kept widening her lead yesterday as rain that had hampered play in the first three rounds halted. So Yeon Ryu and Ji finished T-2 at 11-under par with Charley Hull in fourth at 10-under par.

The lead went from seven to eight when the Kiwi stuffed her tee-shot at the par-three 14th to three feet and, clearly not content to just par her way home, birdie No 25 for the week followed at the par-five 18th.