People tell you: remember when you're young you're fearless. I mean though I do get nervous at times, I feel like I'm just like any other player when I first moved to New Zealand. The first house was opposite a golf course I think that's when I really realized what a big part of my life Golf was. My biggest breakthrough moment was winning my first LPGA tournament I was 15 when I won the Canadian Open in 2012, I can't believe it really happened. Winning the Evian Championship and the NA inspiration it's greater than I could have ever imagined it to be the most important thing, I tell my younger self is to embrace every moment just have fun, Lydia.
Twenty-four-year-old Lydia Ko made it onto Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential people in the World at just 17. Flanked by Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Beyoncé, her tribute was written by golfing legend Annika Sörenstam. “Lydia Ko is exceptionally talented, mature beyond her years and well-liked by golf fans and competitors alike,” Sörenstam wrote. “Her early, record-breaking success brings with it incredible pressure and she’s doing a fantastic job handling the many responsibilities that accompany stardom. Her future is very bright.”
Ko’s rise to fame has been meteoric. Neither of her parents played golf, but her aunt was an addict, and gave her niece a couple of clubs. Moving from Seoul to Auckland, the family settled opposite a golf course, and Ko started to play every day. The accolades came thick and fast, and by seven, she had competed in the New Zealand Women’s Amateur (which she went on to win before she turned 14).
A seismic moment in Ko’s career came when she was 12. Entering into a Ladies European Tour event, she came seventh to a winner who was nearly 34 years her senior. Then, at 14, Ko became the youngest champion on the Australian L.P.G.A. tour, and the first amateur winner since JoAnne Carner won the Burdine’s Invitational back in 1969.
These were the moments that laid the foundations for the apex of Ko’s professional career: at 17 (the same year she was honoured by Time), Ko became the best female golf player in the world, making her the youngest player of either gender to score such a success. “At the age of 17, I was able to become the youngest number one-ranked player of either gender,” says Ko. “Being the youngest to win a major championship—it’s greater than I could ever have imagined it to be.”
Ko’s achievements have been so record-breaking that it’s easy to forget her diminutive age—a reality that is aided both by her maturity and modesty. “What motivates me in golf is the challenge of it,” she explains. “When I’m in a loss or I come second, it helps you to grow as a person and as a player to improve for next time.”
Ko is proud of her accomplishments, but reflective, too. “The most important thing I would tell my younger self is to embrace every moment and just have fun, Lydia!” she says. Consequently, she is careful to balance her professional and personal lives outside the golf season: to relax, and hang out with her friends.
Rising through the ranks hasn’t helped just Ko—it has given the sport an enormous boost. "She is responsible for sparking increased interest in our sport not just in her native South Korea and adopted homeland of New Zealand but also among juniors across the globe,” wrote Sörenstam.
In an era of Instagram and instant gratification, Ko’s short but immeasurably successful career champions modesty, integrity and a cool-headed dedication to her game. “Although I am the number one-ranked player I feel just like any other player.”
Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/