Lydia Ko records a win in Australian Amateur Championship prior to the LPGA’s ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open – Golf News
The 14-year-old world’s number one amateur female golfer, Lydia Ko, outclassed her opponent, Breanna Elliott, in the 36-hole final, with 4 and 3 at the Woodlands Golf Club, in Melbourne, to win the Australian Amateur Championship.
Lydia was outstanding in the event and appeared to be in a great form to end the Australian domination in the tournament.
With this win, she became the first New Zealander to win the Amateur title since Jan Higgins won the same event, in 1989.
Apart from this, she is also the first international player to win the championship since Great Britain’s Julie Hall grabbed a victory in 1995. Moreover, she is among the youngest golfers in history to register a win in this event.
After the win, she was very pleased with her performance, as the Australian Amateur Championship is considered to be one of the top amateur championships.
Therefore, a victory in this event will boost her morale and make her confident to move further ahead in the season.
“It feels pretty amazing and it feels great that I came further than I did last year so I’m pretty proud of myself,” Lydia said.
“All the people that were supporting me – all the boys and girls and our manager, I think because of them I got this far. Especially when you’re in a different country and having people cheering for you is just great,” she added.
Lydia, for her outstanding performances in the 2011 season, has an exemption to play the season opening tournament of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
“I saw the field for Melbourne and there are so many good players. Playing an LPGA Tour event is one of my dream goals and it’s come really early. I’m just going to do my best and learn as much as I can,” she said.
She stated that she is confident to play the LPGA tournament with a high morale and will try to register a good finish in the end.
A win at the start of the season shows how she has concluded her 2011 golf season as an amateur. She further highlighted that she is ready to make such a run again.
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