MAINEVILLE, Ohio — The last time Lydia Ko competed on the LPGA Tour, she was the one hoisting the AIG Women’s Open trophy after the final round at the Old Course at St Andrews at the last major of the 2024 season.

Before that, she was in floods of tears standing atop the Olympic podium with gold hanging around her neck, her berth in the LPGA Hall of Fame firmly in her grasp after she emerged victorious at Le Golf National in France.

And now, after three weeks away from golf, the 21-time LPGA Tour winner is in hot pursuit of a third 2024 title, currently sitting at 11-under through 36 holes at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G after carding rounds of 67 and 66 on Thursday and Friday at TPC River’s Bend.

It’s been a historic year for Ko, who has had more than her fair share of those kinds of seasons since joining the LPGA Tour in 2014. She won right out of the gate at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla., a victory that earned Ko her 26th Hall of Fame point and put her within one of automatic qualification into one of the most prestigious halls of fame in all of sports.

Ko then waited with bated breath for another win to come knocking, having plenty of close calls in the weeks and months after winning her 20th Tour title at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club.

Little did she know that it would ultimately take until August for her to check the LPGA Hall of Fame off her list of 2024 goals, a long-awaited moment that ultimately proved to be more than well worth the stressful wait once it arrived.

Teeing it up in her third Olympic Games, the New Zealand native posted a four-day total of 10-under at Le Golf National to capture the gold medal, winning the Olympic women’s golf competition by two shots over Esther Henseleit. Her performance just outside of Paris, France, secured the 27-year-old the final point she needed for entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame and also made Ko the first athlete in the history of Olympic golf to complete the medal trifecta, as she took silver in 2016 and claimed bronze in 2021.

As if that wasn’t enough, just 15 days later, Ko then took home her third career major title at the Home of Golf, joining Lorena Ochoa and Stacy Lewis as just the third woman ever to win the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.

It was a monumental August for Ko, a month-long stretch of success that many LPGA Tour athletes could only ever dream of. But it was as exhausting as it was exhilarating, and Ko decided to take some time off after winning in Scotland, a refreshing break that allowed her to begin to process what had taken place over the summer.

“I was always going to take three weeks off regardless of what was going to happen in Europe,” said Ko after her first round in Ohio. “Obviously, the best stretch I've had over a cumulative of three weeks with two wins there. But I don't know if it has really sunk in yet. I think my husband and I turn to each other at times and go, wow, I can't believe you won the Olympics and then the AIG Women's Open.

“It was kind of like being punched in the face twice in a very good way.”

Another punch might be coming her way over the weekend in Maineville, Ohio. She is in solo second, one shot back of Jeeno Thitikul, very much in the hunt for her 22nd Tour title.

If Ko ultimately pulls out the win on Sunday at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, it would be the first time since she won the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol and The Chevron Championship during the 2016 season that Ko has won in back-to-back starts on the LPGA Tour.

It would also make 2024 the first year that Ko has earned three or more victories since she captured the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, the BMW Ladies Championship and the CME Group Tour Championship in 2022, a trio of wins that helped Ko to her second Rolex Player of the Year title at the end of that season.

But there are still 36 holes to play at TPC River’s Bend, and Ko knows it’s going to take two more solid rounds of golf if she wants to get the job done at the Queen City Championship, even as one of the hottest players on Tour right now. And if her confidence starts to slip at any point over the next two days, there are plenty of positive moments – from gold medals to major victories – upon which Ko can draw if things get tough in the Buckeye State.

“I feel like I set myself a good plan going into the week, so that's what I'm going to stick to,” Ko said. “I know there is still a lot of golf to be played, so just focus on me, and I think that's the biggest thing that I've been doing well this past month or so. So just stick to that.”

Lydia Ko Continuing Run at Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G

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