Lydia Ko will play alongside Lottie Woad at Women's British, hopes to learn from her swing
Yet there she was last year, hoisting the trophy at the Old Course, ending a major championship drought that dated back to 2016.
Standing next to Ko in front of the R&A Clubhouse as the sun broke through was Lottie Woad, winner of the Smyth Salver for low amateur honors. Ko won the Salver the last time the women played the Old Course in 2013.
This week, Ko and Woad will be back together for the opening round of the 49th Women's British Open at Royal Porthcawl, playing alongside 2023 champion Lilia Vu at 12:54 p.m. local time.
Last year Ko, fresh off her gold medal performance at the Paris Olympics, was the darling of the championship. This year it's Woad, who after a share of 10th at the Old Course, comes into this year's AIG the betting favorite in only her second start as a professional.
Now a 23-time winner on the LPGA, Ko said she's looking forward to seeing what she can learn from the young Englishwoman, who vaulted to 24th in the Rolex Rankings after her win last week in Scotland.
"I don't think the ranking you are doesn't – just because you're a higher-ranked player doesn't mean that there's something that I can't learn from somebody else," said Ko. "She's obviously playing great golf. I've seen her swing, and my coach has sent me a video of her swing as well because there's aspects that I'm kind of going for that she has.
"Yeah, it will be really cool to just be inside the ropes, pick her brain a little bit."
Holton Freeman, Ko's coach since the spring of 2024, told Golfweek that since they started working together, there's been a constant theme of trying to get Ko's hand path more in front of her in the downswing, something Woad does really well.
"Lydia is always trying to learn and tweak and get a little better, so I sent her a video of Lottie just as a visual," Freeman said in a text message. "Never trying to be someone else but can always learn from others."
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