If Kiwi sports fans thought the Ko show was going to last forever on the LPGA Tour, the former world no.1 has a reality check for them – it’s likely closer to the end than the start.
The two-time major winner, who is coming off a stellar season in 2021, is set on walking away from the Tour in just six years.
The 24-year-old has told Stuff earlier this year, she is determined to not be playing into her thirties.
"I'm still shooting for 30," Ko said.
But she did leave the door slightly ajar to go a little longer.
Lydia Ko's big goals: win all five majors in a year to complete the grand slam and retire at 30!
"I won't retire until I know what I want to do after golf.
"I have so many aspirations, like study or start a family. I feel like, when it's that time to step away, I’ll know, and I'm not really sure until I'm there or at that point,” Ko told Newshub.
Ko has also revealed a lofty goal that means far more to her than regaining the world no.1 ranking, that she first won she was just 17.
Instead, what drives her is winning all five LPGA Major’s in a season.
"My long term goal is to win the Grand Slam," Ko said.
Ko’s 2021 purple patch saw her break a three-year LPGA tournament drought with her five-shot victory in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International earlier this month, complete 11 top-10 finishes, claim an Olympic bronze medal and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average for the 2021 LPGA season.
"I think this has been one of the best seasons I've had.
"Hopefully, this [season] is a little bit of a momentum shifter for me.
"This was an important turnaround year for me and I'm hoping that I'll kinda be able to feed off it,” Ko told Newshub.
She finished the year just seven points shy of an automatic Hall of Fame entry.
Lydia Ko's retirement plan remains unchanged, eyes career grand slam
Lydia Ko’s plan to retire when she turns 30 doesn’t appear to have changed.
The 24-year-old Kiwi long ago said she didn’t intend to play into her thirties, and reiterated just that ahead of the Women’s Open Championship at Carnoustie, Scotland, starting Thursday night (NZT).
“I kind of set a goal of retiring when I’m 30. I hope to not be playing when I’m 34,” Ko said when asked what she wanted to achieve over the next decade.
“I love this game, but I feel like there’s also a lot of other things that I would like to do in my life. I try not to get too focussed on what may happen.”
Ko, who turned pro in 2013, made her intention to retire when she turned 30 clear in 2015, signalling a possible future in psychology.
Should she stick to her guns and call quits on her golf career when she turns 30, Ko has another six years on the LPGA Tour to achieve her goals.
“Obviously, I have goals, and doing the career grand slam is definitely one of my biggest goals as a golfer,” she said.
Ko has won two of the five women’s majors – the Evian Championship in 2015 and ANA Inspiration in 2016 - leaving the Open Championship, the US Open, and Women’s PGA Championship.
With 16 LPGA Tour wins to her name, the most recent being the Lotte Championship in Honolulu in April, Ko’s best Open finish was a share of third in 2015.
Ko heads into this year’s tournament in hot form, having bagged three consecutive top-10 finishes, including her bronze medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics, and a share of second at last week’s Scottish Open.
However, she’s expecting Carnoustie, the host course for the men’s Open Championship in 2018, to pose an entirely different challenge.
“This might be the trickiest British Open I've played yet. I've heard a lot about this place. I've watched it when the guys played a few years ago... I think you have to be strategic around here,” Ko said.
“[Hole] 17 is a beast, 18 is also a beast...I think, especially around this golf course, the tee shot is going to be so important to keep it in the fairway...”
Ranked sixth in the world after her recent run of form, Ko took a more aggressive approach than usual at the Olympics, which she carried into the Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links, where her brilliant nine-under 63 final round equalled the course record.
Ko, who will take about a month off after the Open, called Dumbarnie a ‘really good” lead-up event for the Open, but noted Carnoustie was longer.
“I think I’m just trying to stay in that kind of strategy of playing aggressively, but at the same time, if I am out of position, making sure that I’m not making careless mistakes.”
“I'm a little longer in general off the tee than I was a couple of years ago. So, that obviously makes it a little bit different to play. Sometimes, I'm having to take different lines off the tee at some of the golf courses we have been playing for a while.”
Ko is paired with American Jennifer Kupcho and Japan’s Ayaka Furue in the opening round of the US$4.5 million (NZ$6.4 million) Open, and will tee off at 6.58pm on Thursday.
Source: stuff.co.nz
