New Zealand's Lydia Ko enjoyed what she described as a Cinderella week in the United Kingdom after ending an eight-year wait for a major title by winning the Women's British Open at St Andrews on Sunday, just two weeks after winning Olympic gold in Paris.

The victory rounds off a memorable August that will stay with her for the rest of her life.

Ko, who was born in South Korea but plays for New Zealand, finished in championship style with a brilliant birdie on the 18th hole on the windswept Old Course to card a three-under-par 69 and take her third major title on seven-under for the tournament.

"It feels surreal," Ko told Sky Sports. "Winning gold in Paris a couple of weeks ago was almost too good to be true. Going into the weekend, I thought, 'How is it possible for me to win the Open?

"This is almost too good to be true. Of all the major championships, this was the one I had the least confidence in," said Ko, who added Olympic gold at Paris 2024 to her medals at Tokyo 2020 (bronze) and Rio 2016 (silver).

The victory gave the 27-year-old Ko her first major title since winning the 2016 Chevron Championship.

Ko, who became the youngest player to be ranked number one in professional golf at the age of 17, added: "The last two weeks have been the closest thing to a Cinderella story. To hold this trophy now is a huge achievement.

"I told myself it wasn't going to happen because of the last few weeks. So don't overreact and just play the shot in front of you. My two goals were to par the 11th and birdie the 18th and I did both. This is such a special place.

"All my achievements are special, even the silver and bronze at the Olympics. I always said I wanted to win another major championship. Now I am here as a three-time major champion," said Ko, who was born in Seoul on 24 April 1997.

Defending champion Lilia Vu failed to sink a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole at St Andrews, known as the "Home of Golf", to force a play-off and then missed a putt from 12 inches to give Ko, who was already in the clubhouse, a two-shot victory.

World number one Nelly Korda led by two shots at the 14th hole on the prestigious links course on the east coast of Scotland, but then dropped seven shots on the fifth.

Her chances of victory faded when she found the infamous Road Hole bunker on the 17th and carded a bogey.

The American finished in a share of second place alongside Vu, Yin Ruoning and Shin Ji-yai on five under par.

Meanwhile, England's Charley Hull, who led after the first round and was hoping to claim her first major title after finishing runner-up in both last year's Women's British Open and Women's US Open, endured a frustrating final day to finish in a share of 20th place on one over par.

However, compatriot Lottie Woad won the Smyth Salver, awarded to the tournament's leading amateur, after a closing birdie left her on one under par.