
USA Today via Reuters
Lydia Ko drives during the fourth round at Vancouver Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Lydia Ko drives during the fourth round at Vancouver Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports
Lydia Ko was a certified child prodigy since the beginning. She chose to turn pro in 2013, and has smashed records ever since. She rose to the summit of golf rankings at the mere age of 17, which made her the youngest golfer ever to be ranked No. 1 in the world.
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But basking in all the early success, did you know that Ko was still attending school at that time? She once revealed a short anecdote about the incident back in her early days on the Tour.
Lydia Ko had exams after the Canadian Open
Recently crowned as the winner of the CME Group Tour Championship, Ko detailed her hectic schedule in an interview with ‘Golfing World’. She revealed how the expectations regarding her rose after victory at the 2012 Canadian Open, where the then-15-year-old became the youngest victor on the LPGA Tour.
Read more: A Special Lydia Ko Record That Remains Unmatched By Any Man or a Woman
Ko talked about how she transitioned from her golf heroics to focusing on school chores. “I was actually in school at that time,” she said. “So I wasn’t playing much golf… during that time, I said okay, I’m gonna study for my exams, so I don’t want to talk about anything.”
“So it kind of made it easier for me and that transition went more fluidly,” she further added.
Ko talks about handling pressure at a young age
In the same segment, Ko was progressive in facing questions from the media. Having enjoyed a storied amateur career, the 25-year-old was regularly bombarded with questions on turning pro.

via Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Golf – Women’s Individual – Medal Ceremony – Kasumigaseki Country Club – Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan – August 7, 2021. Bronze medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand poses with her medal. REUTERS/Toby Melville
However, Ko didn’t seem to get tired of answering those. She played along with the question, while also speaking her mind. “Every media [and] press conference I did, that question was… always asked,” she grinned. “If somebody was not asking it, I thought, that’s wrong, and then it comes a few questions later.”
Additionally, Ko expressed the time when she chose to turn pro at golf. “I got a lot of confidence winning the Canadian Open last year. I felt that was the right time to go,” she said. Since then, Ko has become one of the best players on the LPGA Tour if not the best.
She recently clinched the season-ending $7 million purse CME Championship, securing prize money of $2 million for herself. In her finest form, Ko is definitely the one to watch out for.
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Watch this story: Veteran LPGA golfer explains why the women’s game is struggling
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