Lydia Ko wins her 20^th tournament of the Tour at 14-under

BY LAURIE WEIR

Sunday was a breezy final day for the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on the LPGA Tour where Brooke Henderson earned a third-place finish. 

The defending champion from Smiths Falls, now 26, had a bogey-free final day where she carded a 4-under par, 68. 

This year, it was Lydia Ko who hoisted the championship trophy after having a rough 2023 on the Tour. 

“Lydia is the best. I’ve always really looked up to her,” Henderson said following the event. “She’s such a great person, and obviously, an amazing player as well. To see her back at the top is great, especially after she didn’t have quite the year she wanted last year. Definitely got it going now, so we all better look out.”

Ko of New Zealand carded a 2-under par 70 on Sunday to win US$225,000 with 14-under par for the tournament. She had round of 69-70-67-70. In her 11 years on Tour, this was her 20^th win. 

American Alexa Pano, 19, who turned pro last year, was just two shots back to take second place and US$165,659. Henderson picked up US$120,174 on rounds of 69-70-71-68.

Next up is the Asian swing: Feb. 22-25 will be the Honda LPGA Thailand, followed by the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore Feb. 29 to March 3. Then it’s the Blue Bay LPGA March 7-10 in the People’s Republic of China.