Ko was a 36-hole co-leader and finished the third round with a two-stroke advantage. Her two-under-par 70 in Sunday's final round was enough to finish 14-under for the week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Florida.

Alexa Pano (70) started and finished the day two shots behind Ko and placed second at 12-under. Canada's Brooke Henderson – the defending champion – finished third at 10-under after a 68.

The event was exclusive to players who have won on the LPGA Tour in the past two seasons. Ko was in the field on the strength of three victories in 2022, but she did not win an official event stateside in 2023.

Now the 26-year-old Kiwi has her 20th career LPGA title and is the seventh player to reach the mark before turning 27.

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"I think the finish that I had last year, not only winning Grant Thornton (a mixed-team exhibition) but I played really well in Korea and in Malaysia," said Ko, who takes up residence in Orlando.

"Maybe if I had found the keys that I found then a little earlier, maybe I could have had a better season.

"I think if you keep going down a spiral of thinking like 'What if,' it's endless. I worked hard in the two weeks leading up to this event. To win at home has been nice."

Ko's lead was not seriously threatened after she birdied the 6th, 9th and 10th to move to 15-under before her first bogey at the par-5 11th. Pano struggled out of the gate, with two bogeys and two birdies over her first 15 holes.

"Maybe if I had found the keys that I found then a little earlier, maybe I could have had a better season.” – Lydia Ko.

Henderson had her best round of the week, with all four of her birdies coming in a five-hole stretch at Nos.7-11 while she stayed bogey-free.

Cheyenne Knight (69), Ally Ewing (72) and Japan's Ayaka Furue (71) tied for fourth at eight-under. Rose Zhang started her first full season on Tour with an equal-seventh finish with England's Charley Hull, as both players carded 71 and finished seven-under.

Australia's Grace Kim was back in 29th at five-over after consecutives 75s.