Ko finishes well to win in Singapore as Hull fades

Final leaderboard for the Women’s World Championship

-13 L Ko (NZ), -9 A Furue (Jpn), J Thitkul (Tha), -7 J-H Im (Kor), G Lopez (Mex), C Hull (Eng), -6 H Green (Aus), A-L Kim (Kor), Y Noh (US), H-J Kim (Kor)

Other notables: -4 C. Ciganda (Spa), -2 L. Maguire (Ire), and -1 C. Boutier (Fra).

Lydia Ko, the third-ranked player, won her first HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore by clearing herself of the rest of the field in the final round.

The New Zealander, a three-time major winner, finished the round one shot ahead of Charley Hull, an England star.

The 27-year-old Olympic champion was in a strong position when three birdies came in the sixth, and Ko finished with a round of 69 for a total of 13 under, four shots clear of Jeeno Thitikul from Thailand and Ayaka Furue from Japan.

Hull, who claimed she had been struggling with illness after the third round of Saturday’s third round, finished with a final two-over-par round of 74 for a share of third, downing her chances.

Ko won the LPGA tournament for the first time in her 23 years at Sentosa Golf Club, Tanjong Course, with her first win coming in 2011.

She said, “I just wanted to concentrate on my game because the leaderboard was pretty tight.