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Lydia Ko: Why She’s the Best Player in the World on Any Tour

By Colin Mieczkowski

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 20: Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays her shot from the fifth tee during the Women's Golf Final on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Golf Course on August 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 20: Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays her shot from the fifth tee during the Women's Golf Final on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Golf Course on August 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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Golf is full of tremendous talent, but only one player is truly the best on the planet — and that’s Lydia Ko.

Just three or four years ago, Lydia Ko was the young, rising star in golf that people hoped would become a superstar. With 14 LPGA Tour wins and two majors to her name before the age of 20, it’s safe to say that she’s surpassed expectations.

On top of that, she just added an Olympic silver medal to her resume. Only future Hall of Famer Inbee Park beat her out for the gold.

While the golf world was preoccupied with debating whether Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy or Jason Day was the best player in the world, Ko was busy ripping up the LPGA Tour. Certainly, there is a connection between Spieth and Ko. Both turned pro just a few years back and proceeded to shatter high expectations.

However, it was Ko who started racking up wins immediately. And now, with two majors, she has solidified herself as the best golfer in the world.

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Certainly, there will always be disagreement about the level of competition on each tour. But don’t sleep on the LPGA circuit — it has plenty of depth.

For starters, you have Brooke Henderson and Ariya Jutanugarn right on Ko’s tail. They have three and four career wins, respectively, and both won a major championship in 2016.

Plus, both of them are still very young: Jutanugarn is 20 and Henderson is 18. Beyond that, veterans like Park and Stacy Lewis can still make an impact.

In Rio, Park showed us that she’s still a dangerous player and one of the best putters in the world. Another young star, Lexi Thompson, is another one to keep an eye on — we’ve seen her run away with tournaments in the past.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So Ko has a lot of competition, but she still manages to win at an alarming rate — thanks in large part to her incredible putting and deadeye ball striking.

She ranks 10th on the LPGA Tour in greens in regulation and first in putts per GIR. It’s tough to beat a combination like that. You can jot that down in your big book of self-help golf tips.

She’s incredible out of the sand as well, ranking fifth in sand save opportunities. That’s three huge skills: ball striking, recovery and putting.

She’s also extremely consistent, always managing to squeak her way into the top 10. Only elite players can bang out multiple wins in a short span of time while also being consistent in the events they lose.

The scary thing is that Ko is only 19 and continuing to improve. Not only is she the best player in all of golf — it looks like her reign could continue for the next few years, at least.

Day and Spieth, among others, are playing great on the men’s tour. On the women’s side, Henderson and Jutanugarn are very dangerous right now and appear to be getting better.

And yet, despite all of the great players in the game today, and despite the women’s game getting overshadowed by the men’s game, Inbee Park has passed the torch to Lydia Ko. Golf is her show now. And she’s nowhere near ready to take a bow.

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How many career LPGA Tour wins will Lydia Ko end up with? Let us know your prediction in the comments, and keep it here at Pro Golf Now for more LPGA Tour updates.

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