A Korean-born New Zealand professional golfer is named for Lydia Ko who is a former No. 1-ranked woman professional golfer. She began playing golf when she was 5 years old. At the age of 7, she first caught media attention as she participated in New Zealand national amateur championships in March 2005. In January 2012, during the Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) tour, she became the youngest ever player to win the Bing Lee / Samsung Women’s NSW Open golf competition at the age of 14. She is the world’s youngest LPGA tour winner who took the Women’s Open at Ienbee Park, Canada, at 15 years of age. Until 22nd December 2013, she took professional coaching from Guy Wilson, who is the owner of a shop at Pupuke Golf Club in Auckland, New Zealand. She achieved the top ranking on 2nd February 2015 at 17 years, 9 months, and 9 days of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf. She was among the “100 Most Influential People” list by Time magazine in 2014. She was included in the list “Impact 25” by ESPNW (or espnW or ESPN Women). In 2015, she was included in the list of “The 30 Most Influential Teens” by Time magazine. In the year 2016, she was named Young New Zealander of the Year, and in the 2019 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to golf. She is also the first LPGA Tour player to win at least $2 million in each of her first three full seasons on Tour. In April 2021, she won her first LPGA Tour event in 2018 at the 2021 Lotte Championship, Hawaii.
Lydia Ko hangs tough in the final round at US Open
Lydia Ko hung tough on a tough final day at the US Open in San Francisco. At the Olympic Club, Ko scored a one-over 72 to finish the tournament at 10-over. Ko was left to rue her middle rounds of 75 and 76. She started the final round in a tie for 49th and out of contention for another major title.
Source: @golfdigest
Famous For
- Being a Korean-born New Zealand professional golfer.
- For setting a lot many records and turning the world’s #1 player in professional golf.
Where is Lydia Ko From?
Lydia Ko took birth on 24th April 1997. She is from Seoul, South Korea which is her born place. Her family later moved to New Zealand. She holds the citizenship of New Zealand and her nationality is South Korean. Her real name is Bo-Gyung “Lydia” Ko. She has a sister named Sura Ko. She moved with her family to New Zealand at the age of 12 years. She follows the Roman Catholic religion and her Zodiac sign is Taurus. Her ethnic background is Asian-White. About her parents, Lydia is the daughter of Ko Gil-hong (father) and Hyeon Bong-sook (mother). Her dad majored in P.E. and her mom majored in English. She also has a sibling, an older sister named, Sura who majored in architecture. Her present age is 24 as of 2021.
For her education, Lydia attended Pinehurst School in Albany, New Zealand. When Lydia used to be on a tour, she used to take correspondence classes from Pinehurst. In the year 2015, Lydia started taking psychology extramurally from Korea University in Seoul.
Source: @instagram.com/lydsko
How was the Golf Career of Lydia Ko?
Early Career
- Lydia Ko started her golf career at the age of five.
- She was only seven when she first came to the attention of the media in March 2005 for competing in the New Zealand national amateur championships.
- She became the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s NSW Open on the ALPG Tour on 29th January 2012. At that time she was 14.
- Her record as the youngest winner of a professional event was broken later in 2012 by 14-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson, who won the second event on that year’s Canadian Women’s Tour on 13 June.
- At the age of 15 years and four months, she became the youngest-ever winner of an LPGA Tour event on 26th August 2012, winning with a score of 275 (-13) at the CN Canadian Women’s Open. Her win also made her only the fifth amateur to have won an LPGA Tour event, and the first in over 43 years.
- The 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open was a 72-hole event with a purse of $2 million; the winner’s share of $300,000 went to runner-up Inbee Park who was three strokes back.
- She also defended her win at the 2013 CN Canadian Open, shooting 265 (-15) for a five-stroke victory over Karine Icher at the Royal Mayfair Club in Edmonton. The $300,000 winner’s share went to Icher.
Source: @instagram.com/lydsko
Professional Career
- Lydia Ko turned pro in the year 2014. She then stated she was turning professional immediately and would play her first professional tournament in Florida in mid-November.
- She finished tied for 21st in her pro debut at the 2013 CME Group Titleholders.
- In November 2013, she began working with swing coach, David Leadbetter.
- She earned her first LPGA Tour win as a professional on 27th April 2014.
- Her first win on U.S. soil, by winning the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.
- She next won her second tournament of the year, the Marathon Classic.
- she won her third tournament of the season, the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, and also won the LPGA Rookie of the Year.
- Lydia altogether won 3 tournaments in her 2014 season.
- She became the No. 1 ranked woman professional golfer on 2nd February 2015 after a runner-up finishes at the Coates Golf Championship, overtaking Inbee Park.
- She won her first event of the 2015 LPGA Tour season at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open on 22nd February 2015 which was her sixth on the LPGA Tour, and her ninth victory overall.
- She won her tenth professional championship at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open.
- She won her second LPGA Tour event of the 2015 season when she beat Morgan Pressel in a playoff to win the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.
- She finds solid success in her next two major championships with a T12 finish at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and a T3 finish at the 2015 Ricoh Women’s British Open.
- She won her third Canadian Pacific Women’s Open on 23rd August 2015.
- She won the fifth and final major on the 2015 LPGA calendar, the 2015 Evian Championship on 13th September 2015.
- She became the youngest player to win 10 events on a major tour at age 18 years, 6 months, and 2 days surpassing Horton Smith who set the PGA Tour mark of 21 years, 7 months in 1929, and Nancy Lopez who set the previous LPGA Tour record in 1979 at 22 years, 2 months, 5 days on 26th October 2015.
- Altogether, Ko won 5 times during her 2015 season.
- Her 2016 started winning the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open for a third time in four years by two shots from Choi Hye-jin, Felicity Johnson, and Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
- She won the Kia Classic in March with a four-shot margin over Inbee Park on the LPGA Tour. She also made it consecutive major titles with a one-shot victory at the ANA Inspiration which strengthened her position as No. 1 in the world as she became the youngest double major winner in the history of the game since Young Tom Morris at the 1869 Open Championship.
- She added two more victories on the LPGA Tour at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and Marathon Classic.
- She announced in December that she parted ways with both her caddie and swing coach David Leadbetter, who had been coaching Ko since November 2013.
- Altogether, she won four times during her 2016 season.
- Finishing tied for 46th, she began her 2017 LPGA Tour season at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
- She ended the 2017 season with a scoring average of 68.86 which ranked her No. 9 and total season earnings of $1,177,450 which put her at No. 13 on the season’s money list.
- After her first 44 LPGA tournaments, Ko ascended to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on 2nd February 2015. She was the world’s number one for 84 weeks until June 2017.
- She entered 26 events, did not win a tournament, finished in the top-10 ten times, and her year-end world ranking dropped to 9th in her 2017 season.
- She entered 26 tournaments, won once, finished in the top-10 ten times, and did not win a major championship tournament in the year 2018.
- In 2019, she entered 24 events, did not win a tournament, and finished in the top-10 four times.
- As of 2020, she entered 13 tournaments, won no events, and finished in the top-10 four times.
- She won her first LPGA Tour event in 2018 at the 2021 Lotte Championship, Hawaii recently in April 2021.
Awards and Achievements
- Mark H. McCormack Medal in 2011, 2012, 2013
- Halberg Supreme Awar in 2013
- New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year in 2013, 2014, 2015
- LPGA Rookie of the Year in 2014
- LPGA Player of the Year in 2015
- LPGA Tour Money Winner in 2015
- Best Female Golfer ESPY Award in 2015, 2016
- Race to the CME Globe in 2014, 2015
- GWAA Female Player of the Year in 2015
- Rolex Annika Major Award in 2016
Who is Lydia Ko Dating?
Lydia Ko is not married yet but she is single at present. She is in search of a perfect soulmate who would understand her and love her fully. In the past, she has not dated anyone and there is no news and rumors about her dating anyone. Thus, she has no boyfriend till now. She is enjoying her present life being single. Her sexual orientation is straight. As of now, she is residing in North Harbour, New Zealand.
How much is Lydia Ko Net Worth?
Successful golfer, Lydia Ko has made a huge fortune from her career. As of 2021, the net worth of Lydia is estimated to have $15 Million as per sources. She earned around $326,000 in her 2019 season and $100,000 in her 2018 season where she ranked No. 1 position. She finished her 2017 season with a total earning of about $1.78 million. Additionally, she earned more than $2 million in successive three seasons from 2014-2016. Following the 2016 season, she announced that she had signed an equipment sponsorship contract with Parson’s Xtreme Golf (PXG), ending her use of Callaway equipment. Her major source of wealth comes from her golf career. She is living a luxurious lifestyle from her earnings. She can also be seen promoting other brands and products like Three Peaks, Rolex, GMAD Official, Evian, Lesux, etc. She is the ambassador for the New Zealand charity, ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children). She has also appeared in a Fiore TV commercial. She also has a car collection of Lexus Lc, Ford, and Chevrolet.
Source: @instagram.com/lydsko
How tall is Lydia Ko?
Beautiful and charming, Lydia Ko has an athletic body build. She stands tall at the height of 5 feet 5 inches. Her body weight consists of 51 Kg. She has a body measurement of 33-24-32 inches. She has a pair of black eyes and her hair color is dark brown. Her bra size is 32A and her dress size is 6 (US). She wears a shoe size of 11 (US). She wears glasses while playing but she ditched them after she turned 18. Overall, she has got a healthy body and she also workout to keep her body fit and fine. She also does Golf practice for 35 hours a week. Lydia says she eats mixed veggies, fish, chicken, and brown rice (by mixing nuts) mostly.
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