Lydia Ko is doing her best to adjust to the time difference in Singapore. Thanks to a seven-mile hike with Kristen Gillman before her international flight from Los Angeles, Ko said she slept about 13 hours en route to the HSBC Women’s World Championship, while also enjoying a few hours of television (specifically, episodes of Chopped) before landing. Though the jetlag hit her more on Tuesday, Ko awoke and was immediately productive, getting her day started with a 6 a.m. workout.
“I hope I wasn’t loud for the person in the room staying under me,” said Ko, “It’s not often that I wake up early enough to work out at that time.”
Ko continues to ride off the high of her win in Hawaii at the LOTTE Championship just two weeks ago. Her 16th victory on the LPGA Tour, Ko said she proved to herself she had the ability to make it back inside the winner’s circle. The newly turned 24-year-old then took on the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open, an event on a course she admits she’s never been comfortable at. A 78 on Wednesday at Wilshire Country Club contributed to her first missed cut since the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
“Good and very bad in the span of two weeks, but you know what, even in L.A. I had a really rough first day but I played solid on the second day. I feel like I'm still coming in with good momentum and winning in Hawai'i definitely built the confidence for me to say that, hey, you know, I can be back in the winner's circle. So great to be in that kind of a position again. You know, even though I missed the last couple days in L.A., I think I needed a little bit of rest and recovery leading up to this event, especially with it being pretty warm this week and next,” said Ko. “I'm feeling good, and I think overall, all of us players are very grateful for the opportunity to come over here.”
And if battling jetlag was one obstacle, Ko said the heat will be another the 69-player field will have to adjust to as the week bares on.
“The best way to explain it is like going to a sauna, but you don't have to pay. It's a complimentary sauna pretty much throughout day. But everyone is playing in the same conditions. The storm is going to hit at the same time, so I don't think it's an advantage to one player or not,” said Ko. “So it's a level playing field, and you've got to expect it's going to be warm when you're coming to this side of the world, anyways. This is what we knew we were going to face, these kind of challenges, but it is what it is.”
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