15 Year Old Lydia Ko Wins Canadian Ladies Open

Lydia Ko, the 15 year old world number 1 ranked ladies amateur who was born in Korea but plays out of New Zealand, has won the 2012 Canadian Open LPGA championship.

As an amateur Lydia cannot win the $300,000.00 purse which goes to the leading professional, 2nd placed Inbee Park who also hails from Korea. Interestingly enough all of the other four players finishing in the top 5 hail from South Korea. What is in the water down there?

Lydia Ko is a delightful young lady who is in no rush to turn pro although it seems a very bright and rosy future awaits her in the paid ranks. One wonders after this win how much longer she will be able to resist the pressure that will surely follow this win against the world's best lady players.

She is the youngest ever player to win an LPGA tournament and a great ambassador to her sport. Watch any of the interviews she gives and Lydia is quite clearly a 15 year old with her head pretty firmly screwed on, her feet well planted on the ground and a huge dose of humility and gratitude.

While following her passion of golf with her parents unwavering support Lydia is pretty much like any other 15 year old. Well as much as a 15 year old who is globetrotting and breaking records could be.

Does the 2012 Canadian Ladies Open Champion attend school? Yes she does and I know a number of teachers at her school who all talk very highly of her.

When home Lydia attends classes at Pinehurst College on Auckland's North Shore.

By all accounts she appears to be a very good student who concentrates on academic subjects such as Math, History, English etc. as she is able to take her books with her on the road to study. This young lady is determined to finish her schooling and go on to college.

Lydia is a member of Golf Harbour Country Club on the Whangaparoa peninsula, a very tough golf course and the venue of the World Cup of Golf Championships in the late 1998. In 2005 and 2006 the New Zealand Open was played there.

At 6409 meters (7009 yards) it is a demanding layout where Lydia recently shot an even par 72 off the back tees. No mean feat for any golfer, never mind a slightly built 15 year old girl.

Lydia is also a member of Peninsula Golf Club in Red Beach, Orewa - my home club. She joined Peninsula specifically for the short game practice facilities and I am told by the resident pro, Stuart Reese, that when she is there she spends up to 8 hours down at the short game practice area.

If you have watched any of her tournaments - especially her recent victory in the US Amateur Open Chanmpionships - you will see that her short game is phenomenal. She chipped in on a number of occasions and her putting was just plain awesome.

Stuart Reese says she is one of the most dedicated players he has seen and absorbs information like a sponge. And Stuart should know as he practiced with Tiger Woods when Tiger was about 8 or 9. Interestingly he says Tiger, like Lydia, spent hours practicing the short game and would challenge Stuart, a player with over 15 tournament victories to his name, to chipping. The tougher the lie the more Tiger enjoyed it.

As most of our golf shots are played closer to the green, with on average about 43% being putts, is it any wonder that Lydia's attention to this part of the game is paying off?

Like Tiger before her she is wise enough to know the importance of having a sharp short game. Everyone duffs a chip or 3 putts occasionally but the secret is in keeping these score killers down to a minimum.

Do you practice your short game as much as Lydia does?

Probably not. Chances are you don't practice it nearly enough. Maybe it's time to put away the driver when out practicing and take out the shorter sticks. It might be a good idea to practice with a purpose- remember the old adage: "drive for show but putt for dough!"

Congratulations to Lydia Ko, the 2012 Canadian Open Ladies Champion (has a nice ring to it doesn't it?) and to her parents on an incredible performance .

The whole of New Zealand salutes you and wishes you well for a bright future.