Lydia Ko’s schedule coming into the Chevron Championship didn’t work out as planned after she tested positive for COVID-19 in Singapore. The former No. 1 quarantined there and missed out on the next week’s Honda LPGA Thailand event as well as the chance to defend her title on the Ladies European Tour in Saudi Arabia.
Ko, 24, said she didn’t have a lot of symptoms at first, but eventually had some breathing issues and felt like she’d never seen a gym before.
“I was walking 30 minutes and my mask was completely drenched,” said Ko. “It was really weird.
“I normally run and try and stay on top of my workouts, and I felt like I had not done any of that, which was weird. So just doing my laundry and totally out of breath, which is not what should happen normally.”
Ko said she felt back to normal in a week or so. Over the weekend, she tied for 12th at the JTBC Classic in Carlsbad, California. In January, she won the Gainbridge LPGA for her 17th LPGA victory.
Lydia Ko Facts: Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics.
Lydia Ko kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 30, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
At the 2021 Chevron, Ko put together a scintillating 10-under 62 on Sunday at Dinah’s place, coming up just shy of then-rookie champion Patty Tavatanakit. It was the lowest final round in LPGA major championship history.
“I think when I was out of position I was able to make my way around it,” said Ko, “and every time I had a birdie opportunity it was almost as if I couldn’t miss.”
Ko began that record round birdie-eagle and then notched four more birdies to post the first 29 in Chevron history. She was 9 under through 11 holes and within two shots of the lead after starting the day eight shots behind Tavatanakit.
Another birdie on the 15th made all kinds of history well within Ko’s grasp. Given that this is a player who rewrote the youngest-to-ever records in golf history, anything seemed possible.
Also:
Lydia Ko has an ambitious long-term goal and only a limited time to turn it into reality.
Lydia Ko walks to the 18th green on Sunday, April 4, 2021, at ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Even a 59.
“I think my game like last year was very different to when I won here,” said Ko. “I’m hitting it a lot longer off the tee last couple years than when I played and won in 2016, and the course has changed, too.
“I think in the last couple years they brought the fairways in, grown the rough a lot more, so I think the course and just how I play is a little bit different. So it’s kind of hard to compare it in that aspect.
“But it’s so important to be on the fairways here, because the greens are pretty firm as well and the rough are quite juicy.”
More:
With earnings of NZ$2.061 million on the LPGA Tour so far in 2021, Ko has now banked NZ$17.401m in her illustrious career