Lydia makes history
BY FELICITY REID
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A North Shore schoolgirl has made sporting history by becoming the youngest golfer to make the cut on the Ladies European tour.
Twelve-year-old Lydia Ko tied for seventh at the New Zealand Open – 29 places higher than the next best New Zealander.
The New Zealand Open qualifies as a European tour event and also forms part of the Australian tour.
Although Ko’s ground-breaking achievement showed resolve beyond her years, her reward for doing well reminds everyone that she is still a child.
Ko, playing as an amateur in the professional tournament, had her mum’s permission to get her ears pierced if she progressed past the second round.
Ko’s coach Guy Wilson caddied for her at the open, where she finished just five shots behind 43-year-old Laura Davies of England, one of the all-time greats of women’s golf.
"Lydia has had a lot of achievements but this is one that screams and shouts above the rest," Wilson says.
Her exploits made an impression on the veterans of the tour, many three times her age.
"The other ladies were amazed at how well she kept it together on the course. She didn’t play one bad shot," Wilson says.
Having his charge rewrite the history books is one thing but Wilson is convinced that it was not a one-off and there is more to come.
"You might get lucky for one hole but you don’t get lucky for 72 holes," he says of Ko’s rounds of 71 ,73, 71 and 69 that saw her finish four under par for the tournament.
Wilson credits Ko’s work ethic as the reason the Mairangi Bay resident is able to tick off all the goals she sets.
"She spends more time on her game than any other pupil I coach.
"Working on her game is the reason she has found success and risen to the level she is at."
Although Ko considers putting to be her weakness, she says she is taking a "positive attitude rather than negative" towards her short game.
As of this month the Korean-born Ko can officially play for her adopted country, after receiving New
Zealand citizenship in December.
But before she heads to her debut event as a New Zealander – the Trans Tasman Cup in Wellington – it was back to reality at Pinehurst School where she caught up on some school work, something she admits she doesn’t have
much time for during tournaments.
"All her school friends know she is a bit of a legend but they don’t expect to see much of her at school," Wilson says.
But while Ko may have the travel and training schedule of a top athlete, she still hates to miss her drama classes at school.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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