‘Still Greedy’: Lydia Ko Burns Assumptions As Olympic Gold Comfort Doesn’t Take a Toll On the Hall of Famer
Legacy secured, passion still burning! A complete Olympic set adorns the illustrious career of Lydia Ko, marking her path to Hall of Fame induction. Even though Lydia Ko didn’t secure many wins this season, the few she did achieve made 2024 a memorable year for her. However, the thirst of an ever-hungry competitor remains strong in the Kiwi pro, as evidenced by her current performance at the AIG Women’s Open.
”So, I’m still greedy. I still want to win every time I tee it up.” said the New Zealander during the press conference after her third round at the AIG Women’s British Open. She went on to say that it’s part of her nature to be this competitive and that’s a common attribute for everyone else on the course because, “if you’re not that competitive, you probably don’t want to do this for a long time.”After the penultimate round, the 27-year-old sits tied for the fourth position along with Jenny Shin and is just three strokes away from catching up with the leader.
Now, after reaching the peak of her career and finishing in the top ten five times, including at the Women’s Scottish Open, where she took the solo 9th spot, Lydia Ko feels momentum is on her side. “I think I’m just so grateful in riding that, I guess, momentum. You go outside of that, I feel like I’ve been trending upwards…”And that she just wants to play the best golf that she can, which she will have to do in the final round of the AIG British Women’s Open on Sunday. Although she also stated that it is nice to have a gold medal back in her room, humorously adding, “My husband. He’s a true gold medal!”
It is clear she is in a much better place now, performance-wise, but there was never any doubt about how much of a generational talent she is. This latest achievement only underlines that. But what did she have to go through to achieve this landmark accolade?
Lydia Ko’s Journey to the Hall of Fame
For achieving such greatness at the young age of 27, Lydia Ko’s journey to glory has been quite difficult. The 27 points required to get her over the edge seemed elusive. However, her stellar performance during the 2022 season brought her tantalizingly close, with three significant victories to her name, the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, the BMW Ladies Championship, and the CME Group Tour Championship. These wins not only earned her the 25th point needed for her Hall of Fame induction but also catapulted her to the No. 1 position in the world.
But the spectacular season was followed by a harrowing one. In 2023, she had no wins in seven months, during which she missed four cuts and failed to break into the top 30. Along with the slump came mental struggles. As the old adage goes, ‘After the dark comes the dawn,’ which is exactly what happened as Ko shone brightly during the first event of 2024, clinching the title at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. This victory brought her closer to her Hall of Fame entry, giving her 26 points.
Her form went up and down, she lost a playoff to Nelly Korda at the LPGA Drive On Championship and the loss seemed to affect her. She seemed to be resigned to her 26 points. But then she got a T8 in the Canadian Women’s Open, and the confidence from that seemed to propel her to win gold at the Olympics. This is what she means by riding her momentum—achieving the elusive Hall of Fame spot in the most dramatic fashion.
