‘Floodgates will really open now’ after Lydia Ko becomes LPGA’s youngest major champion

Ko, a golfer from New Zealand, became the youngest champion of a major tournament, at 18 years and 20 days, on the LPGA when she won the Evian Championship in France by six strokes.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays a shot during the final round of the Evian Championship Golf on September 13, 2015 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Lydia Ko, a golfer from New Zealand, became the youngest champion of a major tournament, at 18 years and 20 days, on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) when she won the Evian Championship in France by six strokes on Sunday.

Expectations

Ko won a pro event in Australia at age 14 and became the LPGA’s world No 1 in February, but conversations around the tour often returned to: when would she win a major?

She answered that question with her runaway victory at Evian-les-Bains.

Emotion

Tears welled in her eyes as she approached the final hole with a huge lead over runner-up Lexi Thompson.

Ko said: “I kind of got a little overwhelmed. Winning at any age is amazing at a major. To say that I’m the youngest in history for now is so cool. The big thing for me is that I won’t be asked that question again.”

Peaking early?

Ko likely has heard the history of the former youngest major winner, American Morgan Pressel, who was 18 years and 313 days old when she won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship in California.

Pressel has won just one LPGA event in the eight years since.

Set to dominate

David Leadbetter, Ko’s coach, says she is primed to dominate the game.

“At the age of 18 it’s incredible what she’s done, and the potential for the future. The floodgates will really open now. … The confidence is now there. She’s really ready now to take the game by the scruff of the neck.”

The Kiwi club

Ko became only the third New Zealander to win a major, with Michael Campbell and Bob Charles winning one each on the men’s tour.

She can expect a hero’s reception when she returns to Auckland, where media have called for a ticker-tape parade.

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