It would be an understatement to say youth is being served in the world of women’s professional golf these days.
Considering the world’s No. 1 player, Lydia Ko, is all of 17 years old, it’s no secret that the sport’s young stars have gravitated from contenders to powerhouses. Ko is as consistent and formidable as any teenager in the history of golf, and one can only guess how many wins she will rack up in the coming years.
Ko’s calm demeanor and immense talent have taken the world of women’s golf by storm in recent years, and she is widely considered one of the LPGA Tour’s brightest stars.
“She’s such a level-headed girl. I don’t even think it really hits her what she’s doing,” Hall of Famer Karrie Webb said of Ko in Australia. “I think she’s grown up with golf and it’s just supposed to go in the hole, and it does and she does it very well and very consistently. I keep saying that we’re never going to see another young player this ready at this age, and then Lydia Ko comes along and sets the bar even higher for young players.
“At any age it’s an outstanding achievement to be No. 1 in the world, but to do it at 17 is incredible.”
And Ko isn’t the only teenager making waves in 2015. Just last week, 16-year-old Hannah O’Sullivan, a high school junior from Chandler, Ariz., became the youngest winner in Epson Tour history.
O’Sullivan shot a final-round 69 to win the Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., at the ripe age of 16 years, 9 months, 11 days. That bested the previous Epson Tour record of Cristie Kerr, who won on the developmental tour at age 17 in 1995.
“This feels incredible, I can’t believe what has just happened,” said O’Sullivan, who broke the 54-hole tournament scoring record of 12-under that was set by Alena Sharp last year. “To be able to represent the local area and come out with a win, I can’t even describe the feeling. To be able to win on the Epson Tour, at any age, means so much.”
O’Sullivan plans to try to Monday qualify for the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix in mid-March and has verbally committed to play collegiate golf at the University of Southern California.
While O’Sullivan’s victory may have been a bit of a surprise, golf fans should get used to teenagers and young players doing big things in the sport. Michelle Wie accomplished great things as a teen, and Lexi Thompson won the Kraft Nabisco Championship as a 19-year-old last year.
Ko won the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open at the age of 15 and successfully defended her title the following year, while Thompson’s first pro victory at the 2011 Navistar Classic came at the age of 16 years, seven months and eight days. Hall of Famer Marlene Hagge, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Jessica Korda also won LPGA events as teenagers, so the trend has deeper roots than one might imagine.
Looking at this year’s battle for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors provides more proof of the dominance of youngsters on the LPGA Tour. Ariya Jutanugarn (19 years old) leads the way, with Ha Na Jang (22) a close second, Sei Young Kim (22) in third and Minjee Lee (18) – who won on the ALPG Tour last year as an amateur – in fourth.
Players are simply more polished and “battle ready” in their teen years these days than ever before, and there seems to be no signs of that trend ending any time soon. And that’s not a bad thing at all for a sport that’s always eagerly searching for the next big star.
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