Olympic golf champion Lydia Ko wins 2025 HSBC Women’s World Championship

SINGAPORE – Lydia Ko is an Olympic champion, multiple Major winner and LPGA Hall of Famer. Now add clairvoyant to that list.

The night before the final round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, the overnight leader dreamt that she had won the prestigious event, but woke up realising it had not happened yet.

However, the world No. 3 made that dream a reality as she shot a three-under 69 at the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course on March 2 to win her 23rd career title.

The New Zealander’s 13-under 275 total saw her finish a comfortable four strokes ahead of Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (70) and Ayaka Furue (68) of Japan.

This is the three-time Major champion’s first victory in 11 appearances at the Singapore event. She came close previously, finishing second in 2015, two strokes behind South Korean Park In-bee.

After her win, Ko said: “I woke up, and I was like, ‘Dang, it’s not real yet’. But I just wanted to focus on my game, and it was a pretty tight leaderboard.

“I started off really steady and didn’t really put myself in trouble that much – that was going to be the key for today. I felt a lot better coming into this event than a few weeks ago, but I didn’t know that I would win.”

Going into the final round of the US$2.4 million (S$3.2 million) event, Ko led the field of 64 players and was just a stroke ahead of England’s Charley Hull, who was among 10 players within five shots of the lead.

Hull saw her title hopes fade after a frustrating 74, settling for a share of fourth on 281 alongside Im Jin-hee, who fired the day’s best round of 67, and Gaby Lopez (70).

Despite the stiff competition, Ko kept her composure throughout the day – parring the first five holes before firing three consecutive birdies to keep the chasing pack at bay.

Even with a crowd of a few hundred – some of whom donned shirts bearing Ko’s face and name, and carried signs with words of encouragement for her – following the championship flight, she cut a relaxed figure, chatting with Hull and Jeeno as they made their way around the course.

While she dropped a shot on the 11th hole, she bounced back with birdies on Nos. 13, and 15, where she drained a monster 63-foot putt. She picked up another bogey after three-putting on the par-three 17th as her par putt lipped out but, by then, she was comfortably ahead.

The 27-year-old’s confidence was unshakeable. Even when her approach shot on the 18th landed in the sand trap, she sent her bunker shot to within four feet of the hole, leaving her with an easy putt to save par and seal the deal.

After sharing a celebratory hug with her caddie Paul Cormack, Ko was doused in champagne by fellow golfers Choi Hye-jin and Kim A-lim (both from South Korea) and China’s Miranda Wang on the 18th green.

On the significance of the victory, Ko said: “It means a lot. When you come to the same tournament, the same kind of venue, you get to know the people here.

“I’ve made some great friendships and some junior girls that always come with signs with my name on it – they truly make it very memorable.

“Sometimes I’ve had good weeks out here, and sometimes I haven’t played so well. But regardless of whether I’m teeing off No. 1 or No. 10 or what time, they are always there for me – that’s been the special thing about this event.”

Ko takes home the winner’s cheque of US$360,000, bringing her total career earnings up to US$20,595,105, which moves her past Australian Karrie Webb (US$20,293,617) and up to second on the LPGA’s career official money list. She remains US$1,988,588 behind the list’s leader Annika Sorenstam, whose earnings amount to US$22,583,693.

The win comes on the back of a stellar 2024 that saw her clinch three titles on the tour, including

the Women’s British Open

that ended an eight-year Major drought, and gold at the Paris Olympics, where she completed a trifecta of medals at the quadrennial event.

While she was initially doubtful about replicating her success in 2025, the prestigious victory in just her third start of the season will surely have eased her mind.

Ko said: “You have such an incredible year, and you kind of think, ‘Is it going to be another good year, the following one?’

“But I just kind of came to peace with it that if I have a good year, that’s great. But I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody else, and who is to say that I had a great year, and I can’t have an even better one.”