Ko enters last chance saloon
Lydia Ko will have more opportunities to win major golf championships but she gets one final crack at making history on the shores of Lake Geneva this week.
The 18-year-old New Zealander has made a habit of knocking over significant milestones during her incredible fledgling career.
When she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old amateur and then turned pro at 16, quickly rising into the world’s top three-ranked players, her chances of becoming the youngest to win a major were high.
But Young Tom Morris’ 147-year-old record came and went in 2014; at 17 years, five months and eight days when he won the 1868 British Open, Young Tom remains the youngest player – male or female – to win a major.
That left Ko five opportunities in 2015 to become the youngest female winner of a major. Four up, four down, one to go – the Evian Championship in France starting on Thursday night (NZ time).
She’s already had records as the youngest winner of a professional tournament, youngest winner of a Ladies European Tour tournament, and the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour tournament to her name, but Morgan Pressel’s major mark has eluded her.
The American was 18 years 10 months and nine days old when she won the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship. The next major after the Evian is the 2016 ANA Inspiration in April, when Ko will be close to 19 and a shot at the record will have gone.
Ko’s major record has been shaky. She has four top-10s from 16 starts in majors, compared with 11 wins and 40 top-10s from 58 starts in non-major professional tournaments.
But there is plenty to like about her chances at the Evian Resort Golf Club.
Two of those four top-10s in majors were in her only starts at the Evian, a runner-up finish to Norway’s Suzann Pettersen in 2013, as an amateur, and a tie for eighth in 2014, her first season as a professional.
She’s also in good form, with a win in her last start (the Canadian Open three weeks ago) and a tie for third at her last major (the British Open in early August).
The Americans call it ‘‘converging trends’’ – when a player takes both recent form and a history for playing well at a particular course into a tournament.
Of course, Ko not only needs to play well, she’ll need some luck. And she’ll need Inbee Park to cool off.
The world No 1 from South Korea has been sensational at majors during the past three years, racking up seven wins. Her runaway victory at the British Open last month was breathtaking, as she strode away from the pack with a final round of seven-under 65 to win in a canter.
In doing so, Park completed a ‘Career Grand Slam’ of four different majors; she can add a ‘Super Career Grand Slam’ with a breakthrough win at the Evian, which has had major status only since 2013.
Ko’s challenge is to find her A-game when it matters. After a worrying couple of months in MayJune, she’s bounced back to her usual reliability off the tee, sharpness on the greens, and composure down the stretch, which bodes well this week.
Ko will tee off alongside Park and American world No 3 Stacy Lewis in the tournament’s marquee group at 6.40pm (NZT) on Thursday.