Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pre-tournament Notes
October 6, 2015
Youngest ever to reach world No. 1. Youngest ever to win a major championship. Youngest ever to win an LPGA Tour event. Youngest ever to win Rolex Rookie of the Year honors. Youngest ever to reach nine LPGA Tour wins.
There’s prodigies and then there’s Lydia Ko - the most prodigious women’s golfer ever that still doesn’t own a driver’s license. At this point in Lydia Ko’s career, it’d be easier to name off the youngest ever records she doesn't own than to go through the entire laundry list she does own.
Ko could add another to the list with a win this week. After winning the Evian Championship three weeks ago to become the youngest major champion in LPGA history, Ko is looking for her 10th LPGA title this week - a mark that would best Nancy Lopez’s previous mark of 22 years, 2 months, 5 days by more than 3.5 years.
Ko has already won back-to-back starts and is looking for her third consecutive win here. Notably, it’d be Ko’s first LPGA win in Asia; although in 2015, she’s already won in four different countries on three different continents.
But does Ko ever think of things like reaching 10 career wins or other milestones? Not if she can help it.
“Not really. Not at all actually. No, when I play tournaments I really just play one shot at time, one round at time, and just kind of go from there,” Ko said. “This tournament’s a top field every year. Coming in and saying, Hey, I’m going to win every week is kind of unrealistic. I just got to play some good golf out there and just have fun. There’s a lot of great things to look forward to, and personally I think I play better when I have fun and have a smile on my face.”
That’s without question. When Ko’s playing well, no one looks like they are having quite as much fun as Ko. And every now and then she even manages to impress her own self like she did with her work at the Evian Championship where she broke Morgan Pressel’s prior record as youngest major champion ever on her last crack at the record.
“I mean, it was an unbelievable experience,” Ko said. “Either way, if I hadn’t won, it would have still been my last chance. Nobody would ask me if I would be the youngest major winner. But I’m very fortunate that I am now. Yeah, it was so amazing, and I still can’t believe that week happened.”
PARK AND KO BATTLE FOR NO. 1 CONTINUES
Much like the back-and-forth battle for the last three years between Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis for the No. 1 ranking, a new contender has arose for Inbee Park and her stranglehold on the world No. 1 ranking. It’s Lydia Ko.
Ko took over the No. 1 ranking following the first event of the year, the Coates Golf Championship Presented by R&L Carriers, to become the youngest ever - male or female - to ascend to the No. 1 ranking, and she’s remained in the conversation ever since.
Ko’s run at No. 1 lasted through the first week of June when Inbee Park regained it with her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Park’s held the No. 1 spot ever since, but Ko’s wins in back-to-back starts has her on the verge of regaining No. 1 again. Ko is only .28 points behind Park now and a win here would put the pressure on Park.
Here are the scenarios for No. 1:
Ko would become No. 1 if:
•She wins and Park finishes in a three-way tie for 2nd or worse
•She finishes in 2nd and Park finishes in solo 40th or worse.
Park would retain No. 1 if:
•She finishes in runner-up or higher
•Lydia Ko finishes higher than second
FENG’S PARADISE
The question was posed to Lydia Ko in Tuesday’s press conference of how this course, Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, fits her game after finishing in a tie for 8th here a year ago.
Ko laughed, pointed to Shanshan Feng, the defending champion next to her.
“It suits her game,” Ko said with a laugh.
That’d be impossible to argue. Feng not only rolled to a three-shot win in 2014 after a final-round 8-under-par 63 but she also finished runner-up the year prior. Feng is the first to admit she loves Malaysia and this course, however she has a theory of what happened that week last year when she won her fourth career LPGA title.
“I have to say thanks to Lydia, because I think she decided she’s making too much money so last year she let me to have the chance to win,” Feng joked. “So thank you very much!”
GO DJ! GO DJ! THAT’S MY DJ!
Ryann O’Toole and Jaye Marie Green served delicious eats out of the food truck. Then they started chowing down. Meanwhile, Michelle Wie and Cheyenne Woods stood above them in the pavilion, hovering over the 1s and 2s cranking out hits as guest DJs of the event Tuesday. When play starts on Thursday, the massive, resort-style club pool will be open to patron’s children to provide a fun option for youth attending the event.
As much as the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia is about golf, it’s also about all the other great things going on outside of the golf course. Everything from the on-site resident DJ to the food trucks to the masterful work that the Women With Drive campaign is doing for raising money for cancer awareness and research.
Although Lydia Ko wasn’t sure if she’d be breaking out her signature workout dance moves in front of the DJ’s set, she was definitely going to ensure her taste buds got a workout.
“I don’t know how good my dancing skills are. It’s out there on Instagram. Maybe. I’m a big foodie, so I’m really interested in a lot food,” Ko said. “I’ll be having some good food, and I’m sure the food truck will have a lot of good stuff there. Might not be one visit for me.”
Along with the finest golf in the entire world on display, it’s also the stuff going on around the tournament that has helped grow this event into a staple of the top player’s schedule. It shows in the field this week too with the top five players in the world all in attendance.
“Being here is a highlight. I think we all love to come to this event,” Paula Creamer said. “It shows in the field. It shows in how this tournament has been growing, what we’ve been doing for women and just families and touching people’s lives in a different way, through the game of golf, is pretty special. I think we all want to be a part of that and we all want to help. Even now all the structures around here, this event is getting bigger and bigger. There is no way any of us are real going to miss it. So I’m really glad to be back.”
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