Brooke Henderson comes up short in title defence at LPGA season opener, finishes 3rd

It took only four rounds for Lydia Ko to put a dismal 2023 LPGA Tour season completely behind her.

Ko rediscovered her winning touch Sunday in the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, closing with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Alexa Pano at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla.

Ko, who finished at 14-under 274, won for the 20th time on the LPGA Tour. The 26-year-old from New Zealand became the seventh woman to win 20 LPGA titles before turning 27.

"The win is obviously great," Ko said. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be back in the winner's circle, and to be back to the first tournament of the season, it's pretty cool and so much faster than I could have ever anticipated."

Canada's Brooke Henderson, the tournament's defending champion, made a strong Sunday run (68) with new irons in the bag to finish solo third. Cheyenne Knight (69), Ally Ewing (72) and Japan's Ayaka Furue (71) tied for fourth at 8 under.

WATCH l Henderson shoots 68 in final round:

Ko was winless in 20 LPGA starts a year ago, and she now can resume her quest for entry into the exclusive LPGA Hall of Fame. Ko needs 27 points to get there, and the triumph Sunday put her just one point away. Each regular LPGA win is worth one point.

She could get there as early as this coming week, at the LPGA Drive On Championship, played just two hours from her home, in Bradenton.

Sunday's final margin was two shots, but Ko remained in control throughout the final round, played amid unseasonably cool temperatures that dipped into the 40s. Ko, bogey-free in her second and third rounds, birdied four of her first 15 holes Sunday against a single bogey to leave her pursuers battling for second most of the day.

She stretched her lead to five