On Friday 6 September 2013, the Pattaya Mail ran a story headlined; Tomorrow’s Tiger Woods – and she’s Female. Events of the past week warrant a return to this report; a summarised version is reprinted thus:
“It was early afternoon on Sunday 25 August 2013, and the leaders were preparing to tee off in the LPGA’s Canadian Women’s Open. In the last grouping was Caroline Hedwall (the Swede who had just gone 5-0 for Europe in the previous week’s Solheim Cup – the only golfer to ever do so), Suzanne Pettersen (the Norwegian who, if she had Anika Sorenstam’s brain, would already be ranked number one in the world instead of three, and, amazingly, a 16yo New Zealand amateur called Lydia Ko.
“Hedwall was the overnight leader at 10-under, with Pettersen and Ko one shot back. In the field were 23 of the 24 players that had represented the USA and Europe in the just completed Solheim Cup, as well as top-ranked Asians including Na Yeon Choi, Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato and current world number one, Inbee Park.
“Ko became the youngest player ever to win a LPGA event, when she won this event last year, aged 15 years 4 months. Now, 12 months on and at a different venue, she would be feeling the weight of expectations that hadn’t existed 12 months prior. Many in the media, including those broadcasting the event, thought she would be thereabouts, but none predicted, let alone imagined, what was to come.
“After she won this event last year, her school – yes she’s still at school – held a special assembly for their star golfer. It was no surprise therefore, when, come Monday morning Kiwi time, Lydia’s classmates were all huddled around TVs and live-streaming computers watching the last round of the Canadian Open live.
“Pinehurst School in Albany, near Auckland, NZ, were meant to be sitting mock exams, which Lydia will also sit in October. But everything at the school came pretty much to a standstill, according to teacher Vicki Wilson: ‘We were watching and listening to every shot, every putt that Lydia made. It was incredible, just absolutely fabulous. We are all so incredibly proud.’
“Now to return to the first tee and Sunday’s leaders, as they prepared to commence the last round. To say that the pressure on Lydia was a tad more than last year would be an understatement. She had a significant portion of a small but sports-mad nation urging her on.
“By the time the leaders reached the turn, Lydia had birdied five of the first nine holes to be 5-under for her round. Her playing partners were struggling to keep up. When it was all over she had shot a tournament-best of 64, finishing with a tournament score of 15-under – five shots ahead of the field!
“As at this point she has won four professional events from 22 starts. As regards the LPGA, she has made 14 of 14 cuts with six top-10s and two wins. But the statistic that is genuinely freakish is that she has now become the seventh ranked player in women’s golf. She’s still at school remember – she only plays in selected tournaments here and there.
“Lydia Ko – offering a glimpse into the future of women’s golf?”
So ended that article in Sept 2013. Now for the update.
Lydia (Lyds to her friends) Ko joined the Tour in 2014 when she and her parents moved to the US and teamed up with renowned coach David Leadbetter. In her first year as a professional Lydia played in 26 events. She made all 26 cuts, had three wins, two seconds, three thirds and 15 top-tens. By the end of the year she had finished third on the money list and climbed to second in the official world rankings.
The week beginning Monday 26 January saw the staging of the first LPGA event for 2015 – the Coates Championship in Florida. Ko was somewhat disappointed to finish second in the tournament (Saturday finish) after losing the lead at the 17th. But what she hadn’t realised until told was that her second-placed finish was good enough to propel her into the number-one ranked spot in world golf.
In so doing, Ko has secured a place in golf history. Prior to this the youngest player ever to hold the coveted number-one spot, of either gender, was Tiger Woods. Lydia Ko, aged 17, beat Tiger’s record by almost four years!
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” said previous number-one, American star Stacy Lewis. “It was just a matter of time.”
“She’s probably the straightest hitter out there,” said Inbee Park, whose number-one ranking Lydia had just assumed. “It’s going to be hard knocking her off that spot.”
My parents told me never to utter the words; “I told you so”, for such a statement could be taken as arrogant or worse – rude, so I won’t. I will however, point out that you first read about golf’s next phenomenon here, in Pattaya’s somewhat prophetic Pattaya Mail.
This kid, Lyds, is something special indeed. It’s going to be some show.
Happy golfing,
Golfnutter
