Black Sox squad a family affair
could be with a professional golfer who is in Arkansas one week and then Dallas the week after and then you are in Singapore.
‘‘It’s different time zones and knowing we might not see each other for five, six weeks. I think that would be hard to be in his shoes.
‘‘For a while, people said he was my good luck charm as I met him just before I won in Hawaii last year. We were hanging out and I probably did the least amount of practice before an event and I won there. A couple of players said ‘oh, he must be your good luck charm’.’’
Ko also gave an insight into her life away from the golf course with movies, gym and cooking amongst her favourite hobbies.
‘‘Number one is Netflix. I first started a couple of years ago, and now I think I’m a complete binge-watch person,’’ she admitted.
‘‘After my round whether it’s a good day or bad day, I’m looking at it. I think I was watching it so much on my phone my fiance was like ‘I think you need to get an ipad so at least your eyes don’t get bad. So that’s a work in progress to stop binge watching and doing a little bit more in my free time.
‘‘I love working out, especially when it’s been a tough day. I like to get the sweat going and I feel the stress comes out with that.
‘‘I love cooking. I feel like it’s very different from golf, and I actually like spending time in the kitchen. Sometimes, my mom or my fiance are like ‘Is it OK that you’re in the kitchen? Shouldn’t you be resting on your days off?’ But it’s relaxing for me.
‘‘Taking the stalks off beansprouts may be the most boring thing in the world, but it’s very therapeutic. I really like cooking. It’s a different pace of life.’’ for the Black Sox two months after turning out for the New Zealand Diamondblacks in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers in the United States.
The 16-strong squad features four uncapped players – and three sets of brothers.
Captain Cole Evans, attending his fourth world championship, is joined for the first time by brother Rhys, an Auckland infielder.
Makea and Makea-matakatea and Ben and Thomas Enoka are the other sibling sets. Ben Enoka will be playing at his sixth world championships since 2009 and Thomas his fourth for the Black Sox.
The seven first-time World Cup players are Rona, Bishop, Makeamatakatea, Rhys Evans, Auckland outfielder Bradley Bennett, Hutt Valley infielder Tane Mumu and Dunedin-based Canterbury catcher Cameron Watts. Matakatea, Bennett, Mumu and Watts are the four uncapped players.