It’s back to the grind this week for Lydia Ko at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
The 27-year-old made all kinds of history last week at the Paris Olympics, winning the gold medal at Le Golf National to become the only person in the history of Olympic golf to complete the medal trifecta after earning silver at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020.
She also became the first athlete since Inbee Park to automatically qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, as the gold medal secured Ko the 27th and final point needed to earn entry into one of the most prestigious Halls of Fame in all of sports.
In other words, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind for Ko since last Saturday, one that she still hasn’t really processed considering how quickly the page flipped to the Women’s Scottish Open.
“I actually don't know if it has sunk in yet,” said Ko. “I didn't sleep Saturday night because of travel logistics and all that, so I went to sleep for the first time on Sunday night. It was pretty surreal. I woke up, like, was that a dream? Did that just really happen? I've gotten an overwhelming amount of support from the players and the people that I know, and I’m very grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Many players would’ve taken a week off to rest after such an incredible triumph on one of the biggest stages in all of competitive sport. But not Ko.
After joking with her team early in the week that the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open would be nixed from the docket if she were to stand atop the Olympic podium, Ko changed her tune, instead electing to tee it up at Dundonald Links to prepare for the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews next week.
“It made sense that having the (AIG Women’s) Open in Scotland, to play the week prior in Scotland,” Ko said in her pre-tournament press conference. “I always enjoy playing links, and we don't really get to play these types of golf courses very much in the year. It's really good preparation for next week. I think I'd rather play, and whether it's good or bad this week, to be on that momentum of competitively playing, and I know I get a good three weeks off after the Open. I'm excited to have another fun couple of weeks here.”
Despite all of the headlines and fanfare celebrating her historic moment at Le Golf National, Ko is showing no signs of fatigue early at the Women’s Scottish Open. On an incredibly wet, windy and cold day in Ayrshire, Scotland, the 20-time LPGA Tour winner carded a solid 3-under 69, making two bogeys and five birdies, three of which came in her last four holes.
She began the first round with a bogey on the par-4 10th hole and then threw a one-two punch of birdies on 14 and 15 to get to 1-under for the day. After a bogey on 17, Ko turned in even-par, not breaking through again until she birdied the par-3 6th hole to move back to 1-under with three holes to play.
She then picked up another pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-4 8th and 9th holes to close out her opening 69, a score Ko was more than pleased with in the less-than-ideal weather conditions that berated the field on Thursday.
“The first few holes are pretty tricky. I hit my first green on the fourth hole,” Ko said. “I knew there were some par 5s coming in, and hopefully, the weather was improving throughout the day that I didn't have too much catching up to do. I think that's the difficult thing about playing at the British or the Scottish. These kinds of courses, you could potentially be on the wrong side of the draw, as they say. So, it's trying to minimize the damage and still give yourself opportunities.”
Now that Ko has answered all of the internal and external Hall-of-Fame that have been plaguing her since she earned her 26th point at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, a new one has emerged for the 27-year-old superstar.
How much longer will she play on the LPGA Tour?
Most thought that the LPGA Hall of Fame would be the high note that Ko would go out on, riding off into the sunset having reached the pinnacle of women’s golf, much like Lorena Ochoa did when she retired as Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 in 2010.
But while Ko has put a timeline on her career in the past, those plans are now a lot murkier than many might have realized, than maybe even Ko herself realized.
“I always said (I’d retire at) 30, but I said 30 like ten years ago, and I don't even know why I said 30 at that point,” said Ko. “I have bad days and good days. Bad days, I want to quit that day, and good days, you feel like you could go and do this forever, and it feels like that moment is going to last forever. I personally don't know when the ending point is, but I have set another goal for myself so I'm not cluelessly playing on Tour.
“Even if I were to stop today, I'm obviously very grateful for everything that has happened in my career so far, but I haven't really set an end date yet. It's something that I need to think a lot about, and it's definitely not an overnight thought. I want to get through this year first and then assess. But this year will probably not be my last competitive year.”
And why would it be? Ko is known to follow up success with even more success, something she just might do again this week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open after a strong 3-under start.
With the gold medal and Hall-of-Fame pressures off her back, we could see more of the same golf that helped Ko win two titles in her last three starts of the 2022 season and collect Vare Trophy, Rolex Player of the Year and Race to the CME Globe honors, a rare clean-sweep of the season-ending awards.
Anything is on the table, but no matter how she plays in the coming weeks, there is one positive to hang on to.
It appears that Lydia Ko is very much here to stay. For now, anyway.
On the hunt 👀
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 15, 2024
Lydia Ko birdies the final hole to snag a share of the lead at -3 pic.twitter.com/Nlbh0J6k8y
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