Almost seven months ago, this replay began with “Proud” Chanette Wannasaen teeing off on another blustery day at Birthplace (St. Andrews). She was joined by Jeeno Thitikul, Lexi Thompson, and Lilia Vu. Three of those four players would go on to finish among the top six spots in my 2024 Women’s Open Replay. Unfortunately, “Proud” Chanette crash landed third from the bottom (+17) in 42nd place.
This post presents the 4th round and final results for both the actual tournament and my replay. As usual, I also provide a statistical comparison between the two and share some of the replay highlights. Previous posts explain how the replay was set up and cover results for rounds 1, 2, and 3.
Let’s begin by taking a look at the actual 2024 Women’s Open tournament.
Actual Results
Lydia Ko closed with a 3-under 69 to win 7-under (281), securing her place once again among the sport’s elite. While the leaderboard featured a mix of rising stars and established names, the spotlight was on former Women’s Open champions, whose experience shaped the week’s drama.
Ko, a multiple-major winner including the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, relied on precision, strategic course management, and calm putting to maintain a lead when it mattered most. She was chased closely by Lilia Vu, the reigning Women’s Open champion, and Jiyai Shin, a two-time Women’s Open winner, both finishing T2 at −5 (283). Vu’s steady play and Shin’s veteran savvy highlighted why past champions continue to exert influence on the tour.
Also in contention was Nelly Korda, a major champion in her own right, who put pressure on the leaders with strong early rounds before settling for a share of second. Her athletic power and consistency provided a counterpoint to the experience of the former Open winners, showcasing the depth and talent of the current LPGA field.
Ko’s triumph was a reminder that while new stars rise, the legacy of past champions like Ko, Vu, and Shin remains a defining thread in LPGA history. It was a week that celebrated both enduring excellence and the fresh energy that continues to shape women’s golf.
The actual final round and tournament results are shown in the table below:
Now, let’s move on to the replay to see how it compares.
Replay Event
As with the earlier rounds, the replay was conducted using the Game Caddie. Round 4 was completed with version 6.9.
The final round of the 2024 Women’s Open at Birthplace began under partly cloudy skies and blustery tailwinds, which helped players gain distance off the tee but made control tricky on approach shots. As the day went on, those winds shifted into crossing and headwinds, turning the back nine into a true test of touch and composure.
Nelly Korda began the day with a one-shot lead over Jeeno Thitikul, setting up a duel between two of the best players in the world in 2024.
Hole 1: A Four-Shot Swing
The opening hole immediately reshaped the round.
Korda found the fairway off the tee and reached the green in two. Facing a 65-foot putt, she rolled it in for birdie — a confident start that set the tone for her round.
Thitikul, meanwhile, ran into immediate trouble. Her first tee shot double-crossed right and was carried out of bounds. Trying to correct, her next attempt did the same — another double-cross right, again OB. Two stroke-and-distance penalty strokes later, she managed to steady herself and escape with a one-putt 7, a hard-earned triple bogey.
Korda’s birdie, combined with Jeeno’s misstep, created a four-shot swing on the hole — leaving Jeeno five shots behind with 17 holes still to play.
Front Nine: Finding Stability
Despite the rough start, Thitikul regrouped well. She found her rhythm, hit more fairways, and carded a birdie at the par-3 eighth to steady her score. She reached the turn at 38 (+2) — not ideal, but a strong recovery after the opening setback.
Korda stayed sharp throughout the front side, hitting 100% of fairways and greens in regulation. Her putting was consistent and composed, and she made the turn in 31 (-5), extending her advantage.
Back Nine: Winds Shift, Pressure Builds
As the players moved to the back nine, the tailwind turned into strong head and crosswinds, forcing adjustments on every shot.
Thitikul showed some grit, picking up birdies at 11 and 12, and when Korda bogeyed the 15th, there was a brief sense that the gap might close.
But on the par-4 16th — playing into a strong wind — Korda rolled in a firm mid-range birdie putt to steady the round and effectively seal the win. From there, she played smart, conservative golf to the finish.
Closing Out the Win
Korda signed for a 68 (-4), a round marked by control and calm under changing conditions. Her 157 feet of putts made underscored how solid her touch had been throughout the day.
Thitikul finished with a 73 (+1), a score that didn’t quite reflect how well she recovered from that opening hole. After the early setback, she played 2 under-par golf the rest of the way — a steady, composed response.
In the end, it was the first hole that told the story: one birdie, one triple bogey, and a four-shot swing that defined the replay championship. From that point on, Korda never looked back.
The final round and tournament results for the replay are shown in the table below:
Round 4 Replay Highlights Summary
The final round featured several notable moments on the course. Linnea Strom, Angel Yin, and Hannah Green all eagled hole #5 — a straightforward, 520-yard par 5.
On the double green at hole #7 (355 yards), all of the following players reached the green with their drives: Georgia Hall (310 yards), Ronni Yin (305 yards), Megan Khang (300 yards), Rose Zhang (295 yards), Lexi Thompson (290 yards), Charlie Hull (285 yards), Brooke Henderson (270 yards, followed by a 4-putt from 323 feet), and Nelly Korda (270 yards).
Putting was a challenge for several players. Brooke Henderson 4-putted on hole #7, Jasmine Suwannapura 4-putted on holes #4 and #18, and Patty Tavatanakit 4-putted on hole #17. Alison Lee 5-putted on hole #3 and took 41 putts overall—the most by any man or woman in my replay history—including five 3-putts. Other highlights include:
- A Lim Kim led all players in average driving distance (two holes) at 292 yards. (Avg. = 252)
- A Lim Kim led all players in average driving distance (all drives) at 264 yards. (Avg. = 247)
- Linnea Ström had the longest drive at 345 yards.
- Jin-Young Ko hit all 16 fairways. (Avg. = 12.7)
- Five players hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. (Avg. = 13.3)
- Lydia Ko sunk the longest putt at 67 feet.
- Lydia Ko had the longest total distance of putts made at 164 feet. (Avg. = 79.3)
- Nelly Korda and Madelene Sagström had the fewest putts at 29. (Avg. = 33.9)
- Alison Lee had the most putts at 41.
Tournament Statistical Summary
The actual results were based on 82 players who qualified for all four rounds of the tournament. The replay field consisted of a subset of 44 carded players drawn from the full event field. While the two groups shared many common players, they were not identical.
The replay simulation produced outcomes that closely matched the actual tournament across key scoring and performance categories. Both recorded an average score of 72.9 and greens in regulation of 77%, reflecting consistent accuracy in approach play and scoring.
The largest difference appeared off the tee. The replay produced 81% of fairways hit, compared to 71% in the actual event, indicating that the simulation produced more conservative driving patterns overall. This reflects the course design at Birthplace, where much of the serious trouble lies to the right—whin bushes close to the fairway and out-of-bounds on several holes. With generally wide fairways, the safer play is to aim or shape shots to the left, even though that strategy can lead to less favorable angles into the green and longer initial putts. However, this approach did not significantly affect greens in regulation, as the greens at Birthplace are the largest on the tour, offering generous targets even from suboptimal angles.
Sand saves were lower in the replay at 20%, compared to 26% in actual play, indicating a small shortfall in recovery performance around the greens.
Based on Putts per Round, putting performance was identical. Both recorded 32.7 putts per round, while the replay tracked a total of 82.6 feet of putts made, including a longest made putt of 84 feet. These putting-distance figures could not be compared with actual event data, as that information is not publicly available.
Driving distances showed the most variation. The average driving distance in the actual event was 263.9 yards, while the replay averaged 249 yards, with an average drive of 246 yards—about 15 yards shorter overall. The longest drive in the replay reached 345 yards, but comparable data from the actual event are not publicly available for verification.
The replay used soft course conditions for all four days, based on reports of light rain and cool weather in the tournament area. Under those assumptions, fairway roll was estimated to be about 5 yards shorter than normal roll, on average. Additionally, the replay was configured to reflect original game distance parameters from approximately the 2014 timeframe, when LPGA driving averages were shorter than today’s figures—accounting for much of the observed distance gap.
Other performance data, such as penalties per round, were not reported in the official event summaries. The replay had an average of 0.3 penalties per round.
Overall, the replay aligned closely with the actual tournament in scoring, approach accuracy, and putting, while showing slightly higher fairway accuracy, reduced driving distance, and lower sand-save rates. In categories where actual data were not publicly available, the replay seemed to provide realistic and contextually consistent estimates.
The entire set of tournament replay results can be viewed by clicking the upper righthand corner of the PDF below.