Lydia Ko is having quite a rookie season on the LPGA Tour. The 17 year old announced her decision to leave the amateur ranks and become a professional golfer last October. She was immediately given an exemption to join the LPGA Tour by Commissioner Michael Whan.
At the time, Ko was ranked No.4 on the Rolex Ranking behind Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis. Ko has won three tournaments since turning professional and is now No. 2 behind only Stacy Lewis.
She won the Swining Skirts Ladies Masters late last year in Taiwan on the Korean Ladies Professional Golf Tour and has added two more wins on the LPGA Tour this year plus eight top-10 finishes.
Ko collected a rare double dip by winning the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April and has now the Marathon Classic.
This win narrows the gap for No. 1 with Stacy Lewis, plus two wins give her an insurmountable lead in the LPGA Rookie of the Year race.
The engraver can go ahead and etch her name on the trophy and they might as well give it to her now.
Ko posted a six-under-par 65 on Sunday to best 2012 Marathon Classic winner, So Yeon Ryu by a single stroke. Ryu had a 6-foot putt on the last hole to tie Ko and force a playoff, but it was not to be as she missed the putt on the right side.
Ryu had made four birdies on the back nine on Sunday, but couldn’t make the fifth when it counted.
Highland Meadows Golf Course proved to be the perfect venue for Ko’s steady greens-and-fairways style of play. Keep the ball in play, make a few putts and pick up a big check on Sunday afternoon.
The first-place check of $210,000 will put her over $1 million for the year and keep her in the running for the $1 million bonus in the Race to the CME Globe.
Cristie Kerr posted another good finish and was solo third at 12-under-par.
Kelly Tan, Katherine Kirk and Lee-Anne Pace finished tied at 11-under-par and joint fourth. Pace is from South Africa and normally plays on the Ladies European Tour. She is trying to earn a spot on the LPGA Tour and her strong finish this week in Toledo will help.
Lexi Thompson shot 66-67 on the weekend at Highland Meadows to finish T-15.
Hometown favorite Stacy Lewis shot 70-70-68-70 to finish at six-under-par, T-25. It was only her third finish this year outside the top-10 in an LPGA Tour event.
Michelle Wie was also in the field, but missed the cut on Friday night with 74-76 in the first two rounds and caught an early flight out of town. It was the second consecutive missed cut for the U.S. Women’s Open champion.
Ko is breaking new ground. It is rare for a teenager to win with such consistency and play the game at such high level.