Rolex LPGA Player of the Year Lydia Ko finding marriage and golf go together well
Lydia Ko, among the most famous and accomplished women’s golfers the past 10 years, has not let marriage dim her 2023 campaign.
The results aren’t there yet, but the 26-year-old New Zealander said before teeing off in the $1 million Aramco Team Series in West Palm Beach that she’s having more fun as a professional golfer than ever because of marriage.
Ko, named the 2022 Rolex LPGA Player of the Year after launching to the No. 1 world ranking, tied the knot in South Korea on Dec. 30.
Of Korean descent, Ko married a Hyundai executive from San Francisco, Jun Chung, who plays amateur golf.
“Even when we were dating (in 2021), he motivated me to become a better golfer, better person,’’ Ko said Wednesday at the Trump International Golf Course. “There was a point where my motivation wasn't super high. After meeting him, he's made me enjoy golf a lot more.
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“I used to be the type where my off time, the last thing I wanted to do is go to a golf course to play more golf because I do it all the time. Now I love our golf dates.’’
Ko said even on their Bali honeymoon, the newlyweds played eight days of golf during the two weeks.
“I would have been like, no, I'm not taking my golf clubs,’’ Ko said. “But I had so much fun, and it was actually a really good lead up for my offseason practice, and I ended up winning my first event in Saudi (Saudi Ladies International).
“We're constantly moving in different time zones, and it's really hard to accommodate that. But he's always been super understanding, always wants to learn about my life and routine.’’
Ko, whose rookie year was 2014, has notched 19 LPGA titles, including two majors, plus a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Modest start for 2022 LPGA Player of the Year
The surefire women’s golfing Hall of Famer is off to a modest start in 2023. She failed to make the cut in the first major at the Chevron Championships in Texas.
But her mood no longer swings depending on a shoddy round of golf.
“If I had a bad day at the office or on the golf course, I felt like I wasn't a good person,’’ Ko said. “My self-confidence would come down. As an amateur, on my birthday and I shot like 79 and I was like, 'this is the worst day of my life.' I was crying, eating Korean black bean noodles. And I'm like, 'this sucks. I never want to do this.'
"If you keep working hard and enjoy the process, at one point the sun's going to be out and going to be out for a long time.’’
Last year, she peaked with three LPGA wins, including winning the Gainbridge event at Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton. She also captured the season-ending CME Tour Championship where she copped the largest winning check in women’s golfing history of $3 million.
She launched to No. 1 at the end of 2022 for the first time since 2017.
“I've had some great seasons. I've had some seasons that weren’t as good,’’ Ko said. “I've had a couple of stretches where I was winless for three years, but I trusted the process.’’
Ko has a large presence on social media with 262,000 Instragram followers. Some star athletes cringe at social-media’s negativity, but Ko feels it’s beneficial to growing women’s golf.
“No matter if I've shot 80 or 65, it really doesn't matter,’’ she said. “I've been lucky that the vast majority have been always very loving and supportive, even when I have no idea what's going on.
“I think social media is a great way for us to engage with people. We get to play in these different countries, like Thailand in one week, then we're out of there. So for the fans that had seen us there, it's not just a one-week thing. They're able to engage with us and see whether we're playing here in West Palm Beach.’’
Ko infrequent visitor to South Florida
Though Ko lives in Orlando, she rarely travels to South Florida. She’s never even played the Trump course. Last time she stepped foot in West Palm Beach was for an Ernie Els charity event late in 2021.
“I'm just trying to get a good gauge of how the course is playing,’’ Ko said. “I don't have that many experiences playing in this part of Florida. But it's super beautiful out here. The weather has been really hot and humid but no storm – touch wood - as of yet, which has been nice.
“The golf course is in real good shape. There's some longer holes, shorter holes. It's actually a really good golf course. The greens are quite small, so I think when you're on the green, you've got a pretty good chance of having birdie opportunities. But it's also just as easy to not be on it. Ball striking will be a big key. Going to be a fun few days.’’
The Aramco team format, sponsored by a Saudi Arabian oil company, has three pros teaming with an amateur. The foursomes compete Friday and Saturday for the team title. The individual championship will be decided Sunday.
Team Ko features fellow pros Tereza Melecka and Marianne Skarpnord.
“There's not that many opportunities where you play in a team format,’’ Ko said. “It’s nice to be in that kind of a team atmosphere.’’
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lydia Ko playing in $1 million Aramco Team Series at Trump International
