Teenaged South Korea-born New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko had reportedly broken down into tears after she won her first Ladies PGA title as a professional and will climb to No.2 in world rankings at the Swinging Skirts Classic in San Francisco.
Three days after her 17th birthday, Ko departed Lake Merced Golf Club with her biggest career payday of 315,000 dollars in her second victory as a professional, after pocketing 181,000 dollars in Taiwan in December.
According to Stuff.co.nz, Ko, whose two previous LPGA wins were as an amateur at the Canadian Open in 2012 and 2013, will be vaulted up two spots to second with the tense one-stroke victory over American world No 3 Stacy Lewis, ahead of this week's North Texas LPGA Shootout in Irving.
Ko, who was also named as one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world, said that she believes it was a 'sweet 17' birthday for her being in Time's prestigious list due to her LPGA win, adding that she cried after being cheered on by her father, who does not speak English.
Tears flowed on the 18th green after Ko produced an impressive short iron from the rough then holed the six-foot birdie putt, having held a one-shot advantage over Lewis and South Korea's Jenny Shin entering the last, the report added.
