Lydia Ko used to be the youngest one competing week after week on the LPGA Tour. With a crop of talent under the age of 20 in this week’s AIG Women’s Open – Ladies European Tour winners Pia Babnik (17), Lucie Malchirand (18) and Atthaya Thitikul (18), to name a few – Ko is now a seasoned veteran in her 10th appearance in the major championship.
“This is my eighth year on Tour, and I used to be the youngest one on Tour, and now there are girls that's like three, four years younger than me, which makes me feel a lot older. But at the same time, there are ladies that have been playing on Tour longer than I've been alive, and it's pretty amazing just seeing them and how they are putting themselves in contention and playing -- still playing great golf, even till now, and still being so passionate about the game,” said 24-year-old Ko. “I think that's the great thing about golf is that if you can and you want to, you're able to play the sport for a really long time. There's not that many sports that you can do that for.”
Ko followed her Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo with a tie for second at last week’s Trust Golf Women’s Open that included a final-round 63. According to KPMG Performance Insights, it was the third time Ko has shot 63 or lower in the final round of an event. In her following start the previous two times, she finished second and first.
| Final-Round 63 or Lower | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia Ko - In Following LPGA Tour Event | |||
| Tournament | Score | Next Start | Finish |
| 2015 Amundi Evian Championship | 63 | Sime Darby Malaysia | T2 |
| 2021 ANA Inspiration | 62 | LOTTE Championship | Won |
| 2021 Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open | 63 | AIG Women's Open | ? |
Ko said she plans to take a short break after the major before preparing for the rest of the 2021 season but wants to give it her all this week at Carnoustie.
“It would be definitely nice to cap off this stretch of events on a high. I really enjoy playing links golf. I know at times when I'm out there playing, it's really tough and you know, there's a lot of things to think about,” said Ko. “But I haven't had, I think last year was probably my second-best finish at this championship, so I would love to be able to play more consistently well over here because it is a type of game that I enjoy playing.”
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