Lydia Ko’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Warm-Up (Video)
Lydia Ko is returning to the site of her first victory as a member of the LPGA Tour, the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. Ko took it down to the wire last year, firing off a birdie on the 72nd hole to defeat Stacy Lewis by a single shot in the inaugural edition of the event. She’s back in San Francisco this week and getting warmed up for the second edition of the Swinging Skirts by hitting a few balls around the City by the Bay before she tees it up at the Lake Merced Golf Club.
What do you think? Does the world’s top golfer look ready to take on all challengers and defend her first Tour title, the one she commemorated with that mysterious tattoo on her wrist?
Lydia Ko is coming to her title defense at the hottest property in women’s golf and perhaps in all of golf right now, although Jordan Spieth’s triumph at Augusta and the 24-hour race through New York City that followed will certainly challenge Ko’s perch on the top of the social media pinnacle.
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By the numbers, however, Lydia Ko has the edge over Jordan Spieth. She has 6 Tour victories on her resume, easily collected the 2014 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award, and handily won the inaugural Race to the CME Globe.
Ko’s 2015 season could surpass her stunning rookie year performance. She’s already collected two wins — the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open and the ISPS Handa Women’s New Zealand Open — and she’s recorded runner-up finishes at the Coates Golf Championship and the HSBC Women’s Champions. She’s entered 7 Tour events and made the cut 7 times, and she has finished inside the top-10 six times.
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Although Lydia Ko isn’t particularly long or accurate off the tee, her short game is sheer wizardry. She leads the Tour in getting to the green in regulation and in shooting sub-par rounds. (Remember, she tied Annika Sorenstam’s record for the most consecutive sub-par rounds before she finally lost her momentum and carded a 2nd round 73 at the ANA Inspiration.)
Ko’s good, even great, but she’s not invincible, as we learned at the ANA Inspiration, and she’ll face some fierce competition this week. Three players come to mind immediately.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Stacy Lewis will be in the hunt. For any number of reasons, Lewis wants to defeat Ko and win the Swinging Skirts. But Lewis isn’t the only one who will be on the prowl.
Two standout rookies, Hyo Joo Kim and Sei Young Kim, are both as hot this year as Ko was last year, and they’re going to challenge Ko’s dominance on the Tour as well as her Swinging Skirts title.
I’m looking forward to this event and watching the battle unfold. Watch for my Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic preview on tuesday and follow me on Twitter @bethbethel for notifications of my ongoing commentary and updates on the Swinging Skirts and other news in women’s golf.