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Lydia Ko turns 17, wins third LPGA event

April 28, 2014
Lydia Ko of New Zealand holds up her trophy on the 18th green of the Lake Merced Golf Club after winning the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic golf tournament on Sunday, April 27, 2014, in Daly City, Calif. Ko won the event after shooting a 3-under-par 69 to finish at 12-under-par. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Lydia Ko of New Zealand holds up her trophy on the 18th green of the Lake Merced Golf Club after winning the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic golf tournament on Sunday, April 27, 2014, in Daly City, Calif. Ko won the event after shooting a 3-under-par 69 to finish at 12-under-par. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Noh Seung-yul wasn’t the only South Korean-born golfer to conquer the world’s premier golf tour on Sunday. On the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, the barely 17-year-old Lydia Ko captured the Swinging Skirts title in Daly City, Calif.

Ko, who plays as a New Zealand national, finished at 12-under-276 to hold off Stacy Lewis of the United States and Korean American Jenny Shin by one shot.

It’s her third LPGA Tour win but the first in which she was allowed to collect the check. She earned $270,000.

In total, it’s already her sixth win in professional events.

In one memorable week, Ko turned 17, earned a spot as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and captured her first LPGA Tour win as a pro — all while playing with a fill-in caddie from the local club.

“Normally they would say sweet 16, but I would say it’s sweet 17,” Ko said. “I don’t think I could have any better birthday week.”