Lydia Ko is having her cake, and eating it too.
It’s become a tradition at The Leadbetter Golf Academy in Orlando, a sweet reward for students to celebrate their accomplishments. With five wins, 11 top 10’s and a return to the world No.1 ranking in 2015, Ko has made it a sweet season indeed.
“I think we’ve got a regular call in line at the Publix,” Ko’s instructor Sean Hogan told LPGA.com via phone. “She enjoys it too. She’s always fascinated with the color and the icing. You never lose that fun side of your kids imagination.”
The 18-year-old shared her latest treat on Instagram, a rectangular design covered in fluffy white icing, framed in orange ribbon frosting and colorful balloons, with pink scrolling icing spelling out “Congratulations Lydia, #1-n-10 wins” across the top.
This cake was a special one.
Ko had once again made history, this time with a runaway victory at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, where she won by 9-strokes, at 20-under par, the largest margin of victory in 2015. With it she became the youngest to reach 10 career wins on the LPGA Tour and regained the world No.1 ranking, a feat that left even Hogan surprised.
“It’d be a big fat lie if we weren’t,” Hogan said laughing. “Certainly surprised at the size of the win but it’s what you trained for and help them reach the potential and you’re starting to see some of that potential play at the highest level.”
Ko held the 54-hole lead in Taiwan, sitting on a comfortable four-stroke lead. But she was nervous, and told the media after her win that she had reached out to her team for some advice heading into the final round.
“That was an interesting event. She was going into that last round I think you know the thing we felt there was just, keep your foot on the gas. Everything is clicking right now, the strategy is to go out tomorrow and keep the pedal to the metal and she did. She was able to look at certain shots and pins and be more aggressive and the course suited her eye. David (Leadbetter) and I reiterated that to her and she lapped the field.”
But it was really what Ko learned in September in France that was the key not only to her win at Fubon but also her success in the second half of the season. Ko cruised to a 6-shot victory at Evian, again making history in becoming the youngest major champion in the history of the LPGA Tour. Since then, she hasn’t finished outside a tie for eighth.
“I think winning in the fashion she did at Evian was a massive internal confidence booster for her. Not to say Fubon is any lesser a deal but I think she felt very comfortable closing out at Fubon,” said Hogan. “The final round at Evian really gave her the belief she could go away from the field in that final round and felt solid about the game, the course suited her eye and played some great golf.”
Each of Ko’s five wins this season came following a break in the two weeks prior. Time off has been critical to Ko’s success this year and instrumental in the plan Hogan and the team have laid out for her. Maintaining that balance of work and play is what led to her withdraw from last week’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational, citing fatigue after playing four straight weeks in Asia.
“Rest and recovery really allowed her to have that energy in the second half of the season,” said Hogan. “It allows her to decompress, get away from just the daily if you will stresses of competing week in and week out and charge and refocus and get into those stretch of tournaments fresh and lots of energy and I think that’s the key.”
Having enjoyed last week off, Ko returns this week well rested to defend her title at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. Last year, Ko fired back-to-back weekend rounds of 68 to earn her way into a playoff, defeating Carlota Ciganda and Julieta Granada on the fourth playoff hole for the win, which also earned her the top spot in the season long Race to the CME Globe and with it a $1.5 million dollar payout.
“It would certainly be nice to finish off what has already been an incredible sophomore season and finish off with a strong performance in Naples for sure,” said Hogan. “The course she feels very comfortable, another that obviously suits her eye and I think there’s some good feelings based on her performance last year. No big changes in strategy, just making sure she’s as prepared as possible, that includes proper amounts of rest and quality focus in her training and not getting worn out.”
Keep that phone number handy. Another cake may be in order.
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