Lydia Ko has done it. With her victory at the AIG Women’s Open 2024, she has finally ended the eight-year drought without a major title. Ko, now a three-time major winner, prevailed against a strong field of participants and was able to record another entry in her Hall of Fame.

She sank a birdie putt on the 72nd hole at St. Andrews and arrived at the clubhouse at 7 under par. From then on, she had to wait. In a final round in which four different women were in the lead, Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Jiyai Shin all struggled to finish, leaving Ko to win.

Interestingly, Ko’s recent success came out of nowhere.

Just over a month ago, it seemed Ko’s season was falling apart. She won the opening match at the Tournament of Champions, finished second at the LPGA Drive On Championship a week later and finished T4 at Blue Bay. But over the next few months, things got worse and worse.

That’s why Ko seemingly came out of nowhere at the Paris Olympics. She was able to use that momentum on the Old Course at St. Andrews.

“The last few weeks have been crazy. You know, something happened that was too good to be true and I honestly didn’t think it could be any better and here I am this week as the winner of the AIG Women’s Open. Of course, it’s very special here on the Old Course at St. Andrews,” Ko began her press conference after the win.

“I just enjoyed being there that week and had a lot of my family with me… I just realized what a historic and special place this golf course is and it really was like a fairytale.

“Yes, I really am in seventh heaven.”

Lydia Ko shapes her Hall of Fame career

The 27-year-old New Zealander started her career with a bang. At the tender age of 15, she became the youngest LPGA winner of all time. Not long after, she won the 2015 Evian Championship, her first major title. But from then on, she didn’t let up.

Ko won the Chevron Championship to open the 2016 major season. That same year, she also finished second in the Women’s PGA Championship and third in the US Women’s Open.

Ko has been on the verge of qualifying for the Hall of Fame for some time. All she needed was a win, which she achieved in dramatic fashion at the Olympic Games. Now the legendary golfer has capped off a year full of ups and downs with a victory at the famous St. Andrews.

She was the 2014 LPGA Rookie of the Year, the 2015 and 2022 LPGA Player of the Year, a three-time CME Globe champion and was the highest-rated player in the world for 125 weeks according to NBC Sports. Now Ko can add Open champion to her impressive resume.