Tour News

Wisdom beyond her years: Lydia Ko talks golf, family, friends and faith

Published

12 years ago

Jul 1, 2014

Phenom. Prodigy. Whiz kid. Wunderkind.

Lydia Ko has heard all the praise and no matter how many times people tell her how great she is – or how great she will be – she remains firmly grounded by relying on her family, her faith, and herself.

“I just try to be myself and not get too ahead of myself,” Ko said. “I stick to the same routine that I’ve been accustomed to which has helped me get to where I am now. I mainly try to focus on the task at hand.”

It is that focus that has enabled the 17-year-old New Zealander, ranked No. 2 in the Rolex Official World Golf Rankings and named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People this year, to get off to such a solid start this season. Ko, with more than $800,000 in earnings, won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in San Francisco in April and finished a close second to Stacy Lewis at this week’s Walmart NW Championship in Arkansas.

Ko’s main goal this year, in her first full season, is to acclimate herself to the rigorous pace and demands that come with life on the LPGA Tour.

“The LPGA Tour is a year around season with a lot of traveling both domestically and internationally,” Ko said. “The key goal was identifying how many tournaments I would be comfortable playing in a year taking into consideration other responsibilities that come with being a professional golfer such as sponsor and media commitments.”

If not for an opening-round 76, Ko would have been right in the mix for a U.S. Women’s Open title at Pinehurst a couple weeks ago. As it was, she finished a respectable T15 thanks in part to having a very well known face on the bag for the week in Mike “Fluff” Cowan, PGA Tour veteran Jim Furyk’s caddy.

“Since I don’t have a regular caddy, I felt that having a caddy who had already worked the week before on the Men’s U.S. Open and knew his way around the course would be a good idea,” Ko said. “My agent at IMG knew Fluff and luckily Jim Furyk was taking that week off, and Fluff was kind enough to take on the job.”

Ko counts herself among the many players and fans alike thoroughly impressed with the play and demeanor of 11-year-old qualifier Lucy Li at the Open.

“To be able to play her way into the tournament and playing shoulder to shoulder against the best players in the world, especially at her age, is just incredible,” Ko said. “But she was so casual and just being herself. You can tell she was actually enjoying the whole experience. How she handled all the media attention was impressive, so natural and carefree.”

As someone who knows a thing or two about the challenges of being in the spotlight at a young age, Ko’s path is made a bit easier thanks to the strong support system she has.

For starters, Ko’s mom, Tina Hyon, travels with her everywhere making sure she is well taken care of, eating right and getting enough sleep and rest. Out on Tour, Ko relies on close friends like Danielle Kang, Michelle Wie, Jessica Korda and Lizette Salas for mentoring and support.

Equally important to Ko’s ability to keep herself centered is a strong Catholic faith: a faith that enables her to handle all the pressure, as well as to put anything and everything into perspective.

“Having faith gives me a sense of belief, tranquility, serenity and comfort,” Ko said. “It constantly brings me back to reality. We are all the same human beings at the end of the day, living in the same world.”

Notwithstanding the hoopla that typically surrounds her at each event, Ko remains laser-focused on her game and maintaining consistency.

“It takes a lot of hard work, lot of time, commitment and sacrifice to sustain the level of high performance throughout the year,” Ko said. “Golf is a very fickle sport and not only do you have to be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy but you have to practice all areas of your game to keep that feel for the game in tune.”

Next up, Ko will continue the hunt for her first major title at the Ricoh Women’s British Open beginning July 10 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

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John Lahtinen

John Lahtinen is a Connecticut-based writer with nearly 20 years of experience involving news, media, communications, higher education, PR and marketing. He has been playing golf forever and is still finding unique ways to ruin a good round. Adding to his confusion, he plays both right- and left-handed.

21 Comments

LY

Jul 3, 2014 at 7:58 pm

I worked at the Walmart LPGA tournament last week and I never saw Lydia refuse to give an autograph. She was gracious and always smiled. I wasn’t around her 100% of the time, but what I did see of her she was very polite and professional. The same can be said for Michelle Wie too. She signed a lot of autographs and I never saw her refuse anyone either. I was very impressed with both of them.

Reply Report comment
Mike

Jul 3, 2014 at 2:29 am

If only there was a relifgion of none religion…

Reply Report comment
- Jose
  
  May 30, 2016 at 10:10 am
  
  There is, it’s called Atheism, and those people, when they die, end up like a battery or light bulb when they die.
  
  Jesus is real. Take some time to look into Him. All those writings of him 2000 years ago were true. There was no National Enquirer or TMZ back then, no NY Times Best Sellers.
  
  They wrote what was true.
  
  Reply Report comment
Paul

Jul 2, 2014 at 4:59 am

Fingers crossed shel b knockin stacey lewis off her perch sooner rather than later!!

Reply Report comment
Phat

Jul 2, 2014 at 4:26 am

Don’t mention politics or religion. She’ll learn.

Reply Report comment
- Inthejonzone
  
  Jul 2, 2014 at 12:25 pm
  
  There’s nothing wrong with making statements on either, but especially Faith…try and find it, and you’ll see the amazing things that happen in your life unexpectedly.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - lisa
    
    Jul 3, 2014 at 2:16 am
    
    faith- eh, been there, done that, never going back. gained nothing from having it, a lot from losing it.
    
    it’s funny- my life became so much simpler and more enjoyable when i lost my faith. i shed layers of guilt and fear, and began to feel more alive than ever.
    
    even when my mom died recently i had no desire to turn to religion as a comfort. don’t need it. i embrace the life i am living right now, and that is plenty for me.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Jose
      
      May 30, 2016 at 10:11 am
      
      Good for you. Shallow, weak-minded, but good for you.
      
      Too bad you will die one day. And that will be it. Poof. Like a leaf or a battery expired.
      
      Reply Report comment
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lisa

Jul 1, 2014 at 9:58 pm

hopefully one day she will grow out of that catholic faith…

Reply Report comment
- bob
  
  Jul 1, 2014 at 11:00 pm
  
  why do you say that?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - paul
    
    Jul 2, 2014 at 2:11 am
    
    The new atheists preach tolerance for everything and everyone and all religions, except Christianity (because Christianity claims there are no other gods, and there is only one way to the one God) He is just making trouble.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - mani
      
      Jul 2, 2014 at 7:44 am
      
      I don’t really see how atheists can be tolerable of everything, everyone and all religions if they aren’t tolerable of a certain faith, isn’t that a bit hypocritical?
      
      Reply Report comment
      - paul
        
        Jul 2, 2014 at 9:17 am
        
        Its fine in their view, because the Christian faith is the one they are against the most. They don’t care about Buddhists because Buddhists won’t come out and tell them that God judges you for what you do with your life, but Christians will.
        
        Reply Report comment
      - lisa
        
        Jul 2, 2014 at 11:39 am
        
        eeertnt. wrong answer. non-believer’s thoughts about xianity are no different than any other religion in regards to their respective fictional beings in the sky. any atheist worth their pepper will tell you that.
        
        PLUS– they tolerate any and all faiths so long as they don’t cross the church/state separation or do physical harm. atheists feel free to question religion. that may be what you are misconstruing as intolerance, but it’s not. it’s a difference of worldview which should be hashed out among the involved parties instead of swept under the rug in deference to unquestionable ‘faith’.
        
        my thoughts on Ko are in line with the article’s ideas of her maturation.
        
        Reply Report comment
      - Goodballs
        
        Jul 2, 2014 at 12:41 pm
        
        I have faith in my balls
        
        Reply Report comment
- Mat
  
  Jul 2, 2014 at 2:28 pm
  
  You’re hilarious. I’m not even religious but you ma’am are a secular fundamentalist. No better than Muslim, Christian or free market fundamentalists. All a bunch of brainwashed, unquestioning drones. All think they’re enlightened. Oh the irony. Bigotry and intolerance under a different guise, that all.
  
  Big fan of Lydia, she’s achieved more than you ever will.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jadon
    
    Jul 2, 2014 at 2:34 pm
    
    Goodballs, I also have faith in your balls. Ko doesn’t have a regular caddy? Where do I sign up? I’d love to be her regular caddy. Give her my cell phone #. “She’s pretty good, with my help she could be the best” (name that movie)
    
    Reply Report comment
    - lisa
      
      Jul 2, 2014 at 9:35 pm
      
      i, too, have faith in your balls.
      
      Reply Report comment
  - lisa
    
    Jul 2, 2014 at 9:34 pm
    
    i’m guess fine with you calling me a secular fundamentalist. yes, i think that people who propose a belief have the burden of proof, not me, the secular fundamentalist who tries to gather scientific evidence and try to see reality for what it is. i’m okay with saying that we humans don’t know certain things- origin of life on this planet, beginnings of the universe, etc.
    
    if you are trying to equate my stance with a violent religious fundamentalist then you obviously did not read my reply above.
    
    unquestioning? what do you think being a skeptic non-believer means?
    
    Reply Report comment
- Jose
  
  May 30, 2016 at 10:15 am
  
  Sad for you.
  
  Reply Report comment

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