Lydia Ko targets more major glory in US Women's Open

The Herald Scotland

28-05-2025

That's probably what you were going to say it was once you'd had a little think about it, eh?
Anyway, YouTube allows users to create, upload, search for and watch just about anything that tickles their fancy. And, as you can imagine, there are some weird and wonderful fancies being tickled.
In the more genteel world of golf, meanwhile, the great Lydia Ko has been using YouTube to aid her preparations for this week's US Women's Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
'I watched some YouTube golf before coming here and seeing how players played it to get an idea of what the course is like,' said the Hall of Famer of a venue which hosted the men's US Open back in 2017.
'It's probably not the preparation that many of the other players did, but it was just a good way for me to see the golf course.'
Poring over video footage of Erin Hills may have given Ko a little taste of what to expect but she's had the full dining experience since arriving on site to begin her build-up to the second women's major of the season.
'I said to myself on Monday, 'this course is hard',' said Ko of a typically robust major examination. 'But if it's hard for me, it's going to be hard for everyone. It's not like it's hard for a certain type of player.'
Ko has won three of the five majors on offer in the women's game. Her thrilling victory in the AIG Women's Open at St Andrews last season, her first major win since 2016, came hot on the heels of her gold-winning efforts at the Paris Olympics.
That top-of the-podium performance ensured she would become the youngest player to be inducted into the LPGA's shimmering Hall of Fame. It had something of a liberating effect.
'I think there was kind of an internal handcuff that I had put on myself, whether it was pressure or expectations,' reflected the 28-year-old Ko, who has been winning professional titles since the age of 14 and breaking more records than a bull at a vinyl fare.
'With all that (Hall of Fame) being done, I was just able to play with a lot more freedom, that was clear at St Andrews where I was just enjoying being there, enjoying the town and slowly creeping up the leaderboard.
'All of this has made me feel a little bit more relaxed on the golf course.'
Relaxed is not a word Ko would use to describe her first appearance in a US Women's Open as a teenage amateur back in 2012.
'I was very nervous, and I remember I couldn't even line up my ball on the first green,' said Ko, who would go on to finish as the leading player from the unpaid ranks in a share of 39th.
'I tried a couple times and then gave up. That's when I really realised that this meant a lot to me, and the US Women's Open was different to any other event I had played in.'
An expansive, exposed property, Erin Hills will play a hefty 6,829 yards. The line from the 18th tee, meanwhile, is on the spires of Holy Hill, a Catholic basilica perched up high some three miles away.
There may be a few Hail Marys whispered if things are getting tight at the sharp end on Sunday.
Along with Ko, the headline acts in this 80th staging of the championship are the world No 1, Nelly Korda, and the last three US Women's Open champions, namely Yuka Saso, Allisen Corpuz and Minjee Lee.
Aberdeen's Solheim Cup player Gemma Dryburgh, making her fourth US Women's Open appearance, is the lone Scot in an event boasting a purse of $12 million, the largest in women's golf.
A year ago, in the build-up to the US Women's Open, Lexi Thompson announced that she'd be stepping away from full-time golf at 29.
The former world No 1 embarked on something of a farewell tour during the second half of the 2024 campaign but she's still playing more than perhaps people expected.
This week will be her 19th straight US Women's Open outing. Thompson was just 12 when she made her debut.
Footage of that is on YouTube somewhere.