New Zealander Lydia Ko completed a final lap of 65 to triumph by five strokes to win the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund. By making a final card of 75 (+3) in Saudi Arabia, Camille Chevalier the best French had to settle for a 40th place.

Aramco Saudi Ladies International: Lydia Ko takes the title

Lydia Ko won the Aramco Saudi Ladies International with style - © Tristan Jones / LET

Ko, who sits seventh in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, started his day at -16 at the start of the final round with a birdie on the first hole.

The New Zealander continued her momentum with birdies on the fifth and seventh holes before hitting an eagle on the par-5 of 9 to close the first nine holes with a card of 31 (-5).

Another birdie on the 10 gave Lydia Ko a six-stroke lead over her closest rivals with a final birdie on the 13 for a total of 23 under par.

“When I was on the course I was just trying to play the best golf possible. I knew a lot of the big names were playing really well and it's a course where there are a lot of birdie opportunities so I was just trying to get my share of it and have some fun on the green ”said Ko.

“It helps when you come into the final round with a four-stroke lead, you might score the same as the others, but you've got that cumulative lead over the last three days. "

“I birdieed the first hole and had two really good par putts on the second and third holes, which really gave me the momentum I needed, and from there I tried not to look back and move forward. "

Thailand's Atthaya Thitikul concluded another successful week on the circuit with second place after a final lap of 66 (-6).

Despite a bogey at the start of her turn, the rookie birdie on the second hole and an eagle on the fourth.

The 18-year-old made three more birdies of the nine in the first leg, missing just one shot on the sixth hole to reach the turn with a score of 32 (-4) and Thitikul made three more. birdies and a bogey on the back nine to conclude at 18 under par.

"I did my best today with every shot, but Lydia was absolutely brilliant", said the four-time LET winner.

“I learned a lot from her today, Lydia Ko has one of the best short games ever, her putting was brilliant, so every approach shot she has played this week I can certainly learn to improve myself from him. "

Thanks to his second place, Thitikul has a clear lead in the Race to Costa del Sol 2021, with 3 points to his name.

The Thai star has therefore won the crown for the 2021 season and thus becomes the youngest winner of the Race. to Costa del Sol

"It is an honor and an incredible feeling to win the Race to Costa del Sol this year, for my first season, words are not enough to describe what I feel"she added.

Spain's Carlota Ciganda and England's Alice Hewson are tied for third place, with scores of 68 and 69 respectively.

Ciganda, three-time Solheim Cup winner, said: “I think it's been a great week; I like the course and it was very well prepared for us. I played really solid, hit a lot of fairways and greens, didn't hit as many putts as I would have liked - some weeks they come in, some don't. I am happy with this week. Lydia and Atthaya played amazingly, so hats off to them. "

It was a roller coaster ride for Hewson, who finished the round with a score of 37 (+1) after two birdies, a bogey and a double bogey.

But the Investec SA Women's Open 2020 champion bounced back once again with four birdies out of the returning nine to finish T3.

“I had some ups and downs, I had a slow start once again, but I'm happy with the way I bounced off the last nine holes and held on, I really love it ", Hewson said.

“I had a very good week, I struggled a bit the first few days, but I had a good debriefing session with my coach on the course to sort things out, so overall it was was positive. "

On the French side, the last round hardly smiled on our representatives: best Blue this week at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, Camille Chevalier took a modest 40th place (+1) after playing 75 (+3) today . Agathe Sauzon (74) was ranked 50th (+3), Manon Gidali (69) 53rd (+4), and finally Agathe Laisné (74, +7) 59th.

Germany's Olivia Cowan and Australia's Whitney Hillier tied for fifth place with a score of 12 under on par, after laps of 66 and 67, respectively.

America's Alison Lee and Spain's Nuria Iturrioz are one shot further in T7 and four players are tied for ninth, including Australia's Steph Kyriacou, who clocked the best lap of the day with a 65.

In the Race to Costa del Sol 2021, Thitikul secured the title with two events remaining on the LET calendar, with 3 points.

Finland's Sanna Nuutinen, who finished T9, has 1 points, followed closely by Kyriacou with 570,27 points.

Slovenian Pia Babnik is fourth (1), Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord fifth (409,89) and Cowan sixth (1) thanks to her T267,81.

Aramco Saudi Ladies International: Lydia Ko takes the title

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Aramco Saudi Ladies International: Ko and Ciganda in the lead