Ready, set, Ko again? No. It’s a much tougher test

Actually, that should be a qualified yes. Her game is clearly good enough to win a tour event but it is not yet back to her gold standard. Though, of course, that is a standard few have achieved.

While her ball-striking is still not as pure as it was at her peak, Ko showed something quite different during her win at Lake Merced that should stand her in good stead at the majors.

In the past, she has made the fewest mistakes in her many wins but, in San Francisco, she showed a new aggression which was encouraging.

Just think back to her win at the final LPGA tournament in 2014.

Like Monday’s win it was in a playoff and like Monday it was on a par five. In 2014 she parred the hole three times until her opponents cracked and made bogeys.

On Monday it was quite different. Ko came out and took the win with that glorious three wood to a couple of feet.

That’s an entirely new side to her and one that bodes well for the year’s coming majors, beginning with the US Open later this month.

The other component that will help her at the majors is confidence. It was just a month ago that veteran Cristie Kerr said Ko looked lost on the golf course.

Clearly she has changed that around and has growing faith in the changes swing coach Ted Oh is helping her make.

Her confidence seemed to grow each day at Lake Merced and that was reflected in her finish and the way she was hitting it off the tee.

Now that she knows the changes are working and knows she can win that should translate to more success.

So much of top sport is about confidence and Ko should be able to take plenty into the US Open at Shoal Creek.

It would still be too soon to expect her to win there as her irons are still off – she hit about 68 per cent of greens in regulation at Lake Merced, which is the same as her average for the year.

The US Open will be set up tough and long, which won’t suit her.

Ko, though, has showed her game is good enough to at least put herself back in the conversation and the following majors, the PGA, British Open and Evian Championship, should be more to her liking.

Stick that driver back in the bag and hold up a minute. Lydia Ko will one day contend for another major, perhaps even later this year, but she’s not ready to push for win number three at the US Open at Shoal Creek in Alabama later this month.

It’s understandable some people might point to her glorious three-wood at Lake Merced on Monday, which set up her first win on the LPGA Tour in almost two years.

However, majors are a different beast.

Just look at Tiger Woods. A couple of top-five finishes and some couldn’t resist tipping Woods’ comeback to go from good to glorious by contending, or even winning, the Masters at Augusta last month. He finished in a share of 32nd.

Take nothing away from Ko. She was sensational in winning the Mediheal Championship in San Francisco, albeit on a course where she’d twice one.

She’s also a member at the Californian course. What better place to get hot on?

In eight previous tournaments this year, the 21-year-old missed the cut once, nabbed one top-10 finish, and was otherwise anywhere from 19th to 33rd.

Not surprisingly, progress wasn’t immediately obvious under new swing coach Ted Oh, who has been working with the Kiwi only since she replaced Gary Gilchrist with him in February.

Changing a player’s stroke is no easy feat. Simplifying her swing in a bid to find a quicker rhythm with increased power is what her third coach since going pro in 2013 has done.

Forget that magic three-wood for a moment,

Ko’s ball-striking still needs work and expectations must be tempered as the second of five 2018 majors looms.

Of course, that could change if Ko tears it up at the Texas Classic, starting today. Who knows, perhaps burying the burden of such a lengthy drought will result in more Ko magic.

She certainly appeared relaxed during a tense final round at Lake Merced, even skipping and dancing off the green at one stage.

It must be remembered the LPGA Tour has changed significantly since Ko was at her best, stacking up wins on her way to becoming the most successful teenager in the sport’s history. It’s now a heck of a lot tougher to win than ever before.