- Staff
- #1
THERE WERE MILD RESERVATIONS THREE WEEKS ago when Lydia Ko achieved No. 1 status in the women's game. Just 17 years old, the New Zealander ascended to the top spot in the Rolex Rankings after a runner-up finish at the Coates Golf Championship in Ocala, Florida.
None of Ko's peers questioned her game or that Ko was more than capable of ruling the ladies circuit. But some openly wondered about the current points system and if it rewarded Ko too soon.
That small debate is now moot. Ko is for real. She has not let her foot off the accelerator.
This past weekend the teen solidified her ranking with a victory at the Women's Australia Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. It was her sixth title on the LPGA Tour. Watch out.
As the Australian media (via Geoff Shackelford) noted, Ko hit 64 of 72 greens in regulation, tops in the field. This is especially noteworthy at Royal Melbourne, home to elevated and contoured putting surfaces, and also one of the great courses on the planet.
Ko seems to take it all in stride. Again, she is 17. And she is confident. Youth and confidence can be a formidable combination.
"I didn't really know how I would play and how I would react to becoming world No. 1, and I always wondered that," Ko said at LPGA.com.
"Sometimes I got close and I was still world No. 2, 3 or 4, and then after Ocala (the Coates Golf Championship) I couldn't pull off the win but then I became world No.1. I played average in the first two days in the Bahamas but then I fired back.
"It's good to know that just from my confidence that I can still play good and not really think about the world rankings."
Yes, that's good to know for Ko. Perhaps not so good for her competitors.
There's no doubt about it: Ko is good, very good, maybe even great. Time will tell.
Source: No Doubt About Lydia Ko
That small debate is now moot. Ko is for real. She has not let her foot off the accelerator.
This past weekend the teen solidified her ranking with a victory at the Women's Australia Open at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. It was her sixth title on the LPGA Tour. Watch out.
As the Australian media (via Geoff Shackelford) noted, Ko hit 64 of 72 greens in regulation, tops in the field. This is especially noteworthy at Royal Melbourne, home to elevated and contoured putting surfaces, and also one of the great courses on the planet.
Ko seems to take it all in stride. Again, she is 17. And she is confident. Youth and confidence can be a formidable combination.
"I didn't really know how I would play and how I would react to becoming world No. 1, and I always wondered that," Ko said at LPGA.com.
"Sometimes I got close and I was still world No. 2, 3 or 4, and then after Ocala (the Coates Golf Championship) I couldn't pull off the win but then I became world No.1. I played average in the first two days in the Bahamas but then I fired back.
"It's good to know that just from my confidence that I can still play good and not really think about the world rankings."
Yes, that's good to know for Ko. Perhaps not so good for her competitors.
There's no doubt about it: Ko is good, very good, maybe even great. Time will tell.
Source: No Doubt About Lydia Ko
