MINUTES after completing her final round in the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, Lydia Ko stood behind the 18th green, chatting with her fans, signing hats and clothing, and posing for selfies with admirers of all ages and gender.
The session was a commitment she had made early in the day, before teeing off, and nothing – not even victory in one of the LPGA’s most important tournaments, an event known widely as ‘Asia’s major’ – was going to keep this remarkable sportswoman from her admirers.
Over four days’ play at Sentosa Golf Club, Ko’s group attracted the biggest galleries, a gaggle of supporters including one man wearing a shirt proudly proclaiming him to be a member of ‘Team Lydia’.
Ko appreciates and acknowledges the support. “There’s a girl who comes with a sign every year,” she said, “and her mom is pulling her in a cart all the way around the golf course.
“People have shirts with a picture of me – even I don’t want to own a shirt with a picture of me. For them to support me, whether it’s here in Singapore or wherever we play, obviously we are very grateful.”
The support is well placed. Ko is a remarkable athlete, an outstanding golfer and a thoroughly decent person, someone who sees her rivals as friends rather than foes.
Charley Hull, the British star who played in the final group alongside Ko, said: “I like playing with Lydia. She’s a really, really nice person; so down-to-earth, so kind.”
And golf commentator Sandra Mackenzie said: “You never hear anyone say a bad word about her. And, certainly, you never hear her say a bad word about the others.”
We’ve grown up with Lydia Ko, been aware of her since she and great rival Minjee Lee slogged it out in junior events across Australia and New Zealand, thrilled at her victories as a youngster in tournaments throughout the world and, just perhaps, took her success a little for granted.
So it’s timely to reflect on a golf career that has, simply, been extraordinary.
With the US$360,000 she won at Sentosa, Lo’s official career earnings rose to US$20,595,105, pushing her past Karrie Webb’s US$20,293,105, and putting her within sight of money list leader Annika Sorenstam on $22,583,693.
There’s no doubt she’ll reach that target in the next year or two – certainly well before her 30th birthday, when she’s already hinted she’ll give the game away.
Ko was only 15 and still an amateur when she won her first LPGA Tour event, the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open. When she won the same event 12 months later, Ko applied to LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan for tour membership, something normally not allowed for girls aged under 18.
How, though, can you say no to a player who has already won twice on the toughest women’s tour in the world?
Ko immediately turned professional and in her first season won three LPGA tournaments and was named Rookie of the Year, the youngest golfer to have ever won the award.
Since then her tally of victories on the LPGA Tour has reached 23, including three majors, and she’s also won eight times on the Ladies European Tour, five times in Australia and once in Korea.
Though she’s not yet 28, Ko has been to three Olympics, winning a gold medal last year in Paris, adding to her collection of silver (Rio de Janeiro) and bronze (Tokyo).
She’s topped the Race to the CME Globe, the LPGA’s official Order of Merit, three times (2014, 2015, 2022) and has finished top 10 on the LPGA tour 113 times.
Her record is phenomenal and has led to Ko earning a host of honours, notably becoming the youngest player to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She’s only the second, after Karrie Webb, from Australasia to receive the honour, and the first to be inducted since Lorena Ochoa in 2022.
In 2016, Ko was named Young New Zealander of the Year. She was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2019, and was made a Dame Companion in this year’s New Year Honours, the youngest dame or knight of the modern era.
Ko’s caddie Paul Cormack, a Scot who played golf professionally in the US for 10 years, was named this year’s Caddie of the Year during the HSBC Women’s World Championship. He said: “I think she’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world.
“To work with her, she goes out and works hard every day. Everybody sees it. It’s easy to go to work when somebody works that hard. It’s fun, and last year was extremely fun. It was nice to be part of something essentially that historic that might never be done again. Yeah, it’s neat.”
And, as for the rumours of retirement at 30, Ko is vaguely non-committal. “Thirty is a long way to go,” she said. “I’m just trying to honestly take it day by day.
“My schedule has changed. I’ve gone from thinking I was going to play 10 or 15 events this year to now playing over 20, and then also kind of reassessing during the middle of the season where I am with my energy levels.
“I’m obviously very grateful for everything that I’ve gotten through the sport, and I want to play the best golf while I’m still playing, and that’s obviously the biggest goal for me right now,” she said.
Born in Seoul, she migrated with her family to New Zealand when she was four. She retains strong links with Korea and studied psychology at Korea University. Ko married Korean Chung Jun, the son of the Hyundai Card vice-chairman Chung Tae-young in 2022.
