EVENT: Women's Golf
Lydia Ko has progressed from a prodigiously talented golfer in her early teens to a two-time Olympic medallist who is within a whisker of entry into the elite LPGA Hall of Fame.
Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1997 and moved to New Zealand with her family when she was four.
She has done her adopted country proud, winning a silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and bronze in Tokyo in 2021. Her pride in representing New Zealand at the Olympics was obvious to all who watched.
Ko, only 19, included a hole in one in her final round in Rio, and finished five shots behind gold medallist Inbee Park, but ahead of a large pack of talented golfers desperately hunting medals. She shot 69, 70, 65, 69 for her 11 under par total of 273.
Going into Tokyo, Ko had not been in the best of form, but she produced the goods when she needed it and emerged from a topsy-turvy final day with the bronze medal, after an absorbing battle with Nellie Korda and hometown favourite Mone Inami. She shot 70, 67, 66, 65 for an impressive 16-under par total to finish second-equal with Inami, one shot behind Korda. The Japanese player won the play-off for silver. Those watching were struck by Ko's extreme good sportsmanship, to the point of her encouraging Inami even during the play-off.
The sports world is full of extremely talented youngsters who fail to kick on as they reach the senior ranks. But Ko, who was among the best golfers in the world even when she was only 14 and still an amateur, has had a glittering career, that includes not only her Olympic medals but two Majors and a total of 28 professional tournament wins, 20 of them on the competitive LPGA (Ladies' Professional Golf Association) tour.
She reached No 1 in the women's golf rankings on February 2, 2015, aged 17 years, 9 months, 9 days – the youngest player in professional golf to have reached No 1. She held the ranking for 85 weeks. She reclaimed the No 1 ranking in November 2022 and held it for a further 19 weeks.
Her list of achievements began very early. She was only seven in 2005 when she competed in the national amateur championship. She attended Pinehurst School in Albany and when she joined the professional golf tour she took correspondence classes with Pinehurst.
In January 2012, aged 14, she became the youngest woman ever to win a professional golf tournament when she won the New South Wales Open. She'd been second the previous year.
In August 2012, aged 15 years, 4 months, Ko became the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour event, when she shot a 13-under 275 to win the Canadian Open. Because she was an amateur, the US$300,000 winner's share went to runner-up Inbee Park. Ko successfully defended her Canadian title in 2014, shooting 265 for a five-stroke victory. This time runner-up Karine Icher took home the US$300,000. Ko had become the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events.
She finally turned professional in 2014, having declined to claim more than $1 million in prizemoney because of her amateur status. She had been the world's top-ranked amateur for 130 weeks. In 2014 she was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.
When she won the Evian Championship in France in 2015, she became the youngest woman (18 years, 4 months, 20 days) to win a Major championship. Her closing round of 63 was a record lowest final round in the history of women's golf Majors, but she lowered that record with a 62 at the 2021 ANA Inspiration. She had previously won the ANA Inspiration in 2016 for her second consecutive Major championship.
In 2014 (at only 17), Ko was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. In 2014 and 2015, Ko was named in the ESPN Women's Impact25 list of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact on women's sport.
The records kept coming – at the ANA Inspiration in 2015, Ko shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round to tie her with the great Annika Sörenstam for the LPGA record for consecutive rounds under par, at 29. In 2015, she was named LPGA Player of the Year, the youngest winner in the 49 years of the award.
Perhaps not surprisingly, her form levelled off, though she generally remained in the world's top 10 and contended at Major events. In November 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship and with that title a US$2 million first-place prize. She completed the 2022 season with three wins, the LPGA Player of the Year award for the second time, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, and was the 2022 leading money winner.
Ko is a player director on the LPGA Board.
In 2016, she was named Young New Zealander of the Year. Ko was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2019.
She was recognised early by the Halberg Academy and in 2012, aged just 15, won the Emerging Talent section of the Halberg Awards. That same year she was a finalist in the Sportswoman of the Year category. The following year, at 16, she won the Sportswoman of the Year and the Halberg Supreme Award. From 2013-15 she won the Sportswoman of the Year category and in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 she was again a finalist in that category. Hardly surprisingly, she was named Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade (2010-19). She won the NZOC's Lonsdale Cup in 2015.
