Women’s Open winner Lydia Ko claims career highlight win to banish under-achiever tag’

There should be some sympathy because Korda is a refreshingly quick golfer. Maintaining any kind of rhythm was impossible, though, because her playing partner Jenny Shin was dispiritingly slow.

Final round two balls lasted five hours. Even allowing for the delays caused by the weather, St Andrews’ unique double greens and shared fairways, such tardy pace of play undermined what should have been an extraordinary spectacle.

The men’s game is equally culpable and radical action is required.

Every player in leading tournaments should be on the clock. It eventually happened on the 12th hole to Vu and playing partner Jiyai Shin, who were in the final group and had fallen more than a hole behind Korda and Jenny Shin. But the system does not work.

Golfers should be automatically monitored and with slow play ruthlessly penalised this curse could be banished.

Depressingly, there is little chance of such action being properly implemented.

On the upside, we can enjoy Ko’s welcome resurgence. She is an engaging personality and a wonderful golfer.

At the start of last week this Seoul-born Kiwi wondered out loud how much longer she will continue to compete. Thankfully she is not yet ready to to step back from the game in the way the 29-year-old Lexi Thompson is planning.

Ko recalled some recent advice from a friend. “Try to think of getting into the Hall of Fame as like a gas station on the way to my final destination and not like my final destination,” she said.

“I was making it seem like that was my end point, and after hearing that, that put it into perspective. It’s not like I’m going to get in the Hall of Fame and say, ‘bye-bye, golf’.”

It is just as well she did not, because this Women’s Open was a career highlight to cherish.