Lydia Ko Wins In Spectacular Fashion
Lydia Ko has been through a lot. The once nearly-unbeatable LPGA star hadn’t won since July 2016.
Until this happened on the first playoff hole at the Mediheal Championship vs. Minjee Lee.
GolfChannel’s Randall Mell delivers the details and thoughts from a relieved Ko.
Lydia Ko never cried after winning.
She couldn’t stop the river of tears streaming down her face after she made eagle to defeat Minjee Lee on the first playoff hole with an epic 3-wood she described as the best shot of her life.
She cried when her older sister, Sura, fell into her arms on the 18th green.
She cried when she turned and saw her mother, Tina.
She cried when she saw her swing coach, Ted Oh, wiping away his own tears, and when her caddie, Jonnie Scott, hugged her.
“I cried like four times in the span of two minutes, which is kind of embarrassing,” Ko said. “I’m like, ‘God, get a hold of yourself.’”
“I think it was emotional, because they’ve been through it with me,” Ko said. “It’s not like you’re the only one out there. The whole team’s part of it, and they put in as much hard work as I have. That’s why it’s so meaningful.”
Ko, who turned 21 on Tuesday, never knew failure in any depth as a teen phenom. She became the youngest winner of an LPGA event at 15, the youngest man or woman to ascend to No. 1 in the world rankings at 17, and the youngest woman to win a major at 18.
But through all the sweeping changes she began making at the end of 2016, something special started slipping away.
She politely explained to media earlier in the week that she quit reading all the criticism of her game, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling increasing pressure to perform.
“I was frustrated,” Ko said. “Because sometimes I would go into a Thursday feeling, ‘Hey, I feel like I can actually play really well,’ and then miss the cut, or shoot over par. Self-pressure is the biggest thing, where you kind of put a lot of load on your shoulders.”
Ko won in her 44th start since her last victory, since her win at the Marathon Classic in Toledo, Ohio, in July of 2016.
“I think it’s pretty cool that my family is here, and my friends are here,” Ko said, “and we can officially celebrate with alcohol, champagne . . . and remember to take my ID.”
