Lydia Ko on being clumsy, remembered like Arnold Palmer and chasing the career Grand Slam

USA Today

09-07-2025

Winning the Amundi Evian Championship in 2015 was very special for Lydia Ko. It was only her second year on the LPGA Tour, and it marked her last chance to be the youngest major champion.
"In every major championship I played, everyone was asking if I was going to break the record, so when you get to the final chance, you think that it is probably not going to happen," Ko said. "I think winning the Amundi Evian Championship, seeing the flag come down, having the Rolex representatives at the prize ceremony with me and getting the special Rolex watch for winning the Amundi Evian Championship was really special. There's obviously a lot of history there and that tournament specifically hasn't been a major for very long, so to be part of that new tradition and history was really exciting."
Ko, who is a longtime Rolex Testimonee, also was awarded a Rolex. "I gifted my sister that watch. She took it and I haven't seen it since!" Ko said. "With the special engraving, that's something that she's going to cherish forever. It's something that when we both look back, it's going to be a very special moment because whilst all of my wins and all of the moments are unique and memorable in their own way, those 'firsts' are so unique and never come back."
Enjoy this incredibly rich and insightful Q&A with Ko, one of golf's great champions.
Q: Excellence and precision are qualities associated with Rolex. How do you channel these qualities in your game, particularly when facing the unique challenges of major events?
Lydia Ko (LK): It's interesting, because in my day-to-day life, I'm quite clumsy in ways and I am the type of person who if it's not urgent, I don't feel like I need to do it there and then, and would typically to push it back to later. However, as I have got older and become more invested in my sport and my work, I have come to realize how important precision is. People say 'golf is a game of inches' and you kind of laugh, but I truly think that does make a difference. It depends on the quality that I put into my process, my practice, my routine or how I put in my time. I think it truly reflects in my performance and it's weird because sometimes you think you put in 100 percent, but the results don't always show that right away, but somebody once told me that the practice and the effort that I'm putting in now doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to play better the week after. It is more about the bigger picture and that is where I think excellence and precision is so important because all of those precise moments create excellence at the top level. All of the players on tour are very good and it is those marginal differences that make you end up hoisting the trophy at the end of the week, or maybe even missing or making the cut. It is something that I have learned to get better at, and I think that golf has helped me to embrace this outside of the sport too.
Q: What were the key factors behind your consistency and success during the 2024 season, and how you have managed to carry that momentum into 2025, already securing a win on the LPGA Tour this year at the HSBC Women's World Championship in March?
LK: Golf is crazy. Potentially, I may be even crazier to play a crazy sport! In 2022, I got back to being the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year and then 2023 was probably the most difficult year I've had in my career so far, finishing 100th in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. I lost a lot of confidence, but I played the Grant Thornton Invitational with fellow Rolex Testimonee, Jason Day, and we won. I got a bit of confidence and momentum back and it made my off season a little less stressful. Winning the first tournament out of the gates in 2024 was like a reset for me. Coming into the New Year, anything can happen, but having that win felt like a real boost for me.
No matter how the year was going to be going forward, I knew it was going to be better than the year prior. It was a really good start, but the months of April and May were a little bit difficult for me, missing a few cuts, especially at the U.S. Women's Open, which is the major that I've always wanted to win, so to not even be around for the weekend was disappointing.
I knew how important August was for me with the 2024 Paris Olympics coming up, so I didn't think there was a lot of momentum going in my favor. However, I started working with my coach, Holton, in May, and we were progressing. Before I left for the Olympics, I had played the Canadian Open and he said that he feels like good things are coming. Sometimes when your performance is not showing and somebody says good things are coming, you don't really know if you believe it or not, but it turns out he was right! Just a little bit of a spark ended up turning into probably the best stretch of my career, winning the gold medal in Paris and then a couple weeks later being a major champion again for the first time in eight years at the AIG Women's Open.
Golf is a rollercoaster ride. At the start, I was taken to a high, then taken a little down, and then the highest of the highs came, and I finished the season off really strong and consistent. There's a lot of momentum involved in golf, because I don't think my golf IQ necessarily improved drastically within a couple months, but when shots start showing and your ball flight is a little bit more like what you're envisioning, I think those are like building blocks, like a Lego piece where you build it and then it becomes a masterpiece. I just tried to stay positive and really trust the process with my team. They have been the really important factor for me to help me get out of my lulls and end up having a really consistent year.
Q: Being inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2024 is an incredible achievement, especially at such a young age. How does it feel to join this elite group of golfers and how has this recognition impacted your mindset?
LK: I did not know this before, but they said the LPGA Hall of Fame is the hardest Hall of Fame to get into in any sport, so why did I choose this sport? I don't know! Growing up, it wasn't really a goal of mine to be in the Hall of Fame, because I didn't really know what was required and I just felt like a little kid that was playing a sport. I wasn't really sure if I was at that level yet. You meet hall of famers in football, in golf and in other industries, and you think that's definitely not my league. I had the opportunity after having such a great year in 2022 and winning my first event in 2024, it was less stressful being one point away rather than two points away. I just thought if I did the right things and it was meant to be, then at some point I was going to get into the Hall of Fame. Did I think it was going to be through winning the gold at the Olympics? Probably not, but it was nice to do it in one go rather than through two different circumstances.
It's just very cool to be part of that elite club of all the other amazing golfers that are in the Hall of Fame – people such as a Juli Inkster or fellow Rolex Testimonee Annika Sörenstam – and to know that my name is going to be engraved in that Hall of Fame history book is awesome. It made me realize that golf has given me a lot and not everybody has the opportunity to do what they love and also excel at it. I've been very fortunate to be able to do both and hopefully keep excelling, so I think it makes me feel like I should give back as much love as I've gotten from it.
Q: What are your goals going forward and what does success look like for you?
LK: The career grand slam has been my biggest goal. I think when I first said it, I did not realize how difficult it is to win one major championship, let alone all five major championships separately. So, that has been a goal of mine, but after winning the AIG Women's Open last year, that was a new goal that got set in my mind and I thought the impossible happened by winning that tournament. Winning the Olympic gold and winning the AIG Women's Open made me realize that if I set my mind to it and I do the right things, then why not?
That is probably my biggest goal and the two I am missing is the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open. This year's editions are at two locations that I have never played before, so it is going to be a very new experience for me. Even in Singapore, when I won the HSBC Women's World Championship in March earlier this year, it was a very new experience for me. I have not really played well there the last few years, but I was able to change that rhythm, play well and win at a place that I probably never expected I would at. So, maybe it is going to be that kind of a year. Those two – the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open – are definitely marked on my calendar and I was really inspired by Rory McIlroy, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament. Seeing his emotional reaction made me teary because I feel like if I do have that opportunity to be in a similar position to him, I can totally see how meaningful it would be and how difficult it is. When other people judge you and criticize you, those kinds of thoughts getting engraved in your own head, so you often become your own worst enemy. I would love that opportunity to fight my own demons, so it was honestly really inspiring seeing Rory win. It gave me the hope that maybe I too can win the career grand slam.
Q: Winning your third major title at the Home of Golf must have been special. What did this experience winning at St. Andrews means to you?
LK: I actually played at St. Andrews for the first time in 2013 when Stacy Lewis won. When you are that young, I was 16, I do not think I truly understood what the 'Home of Golf' meant and what St. Andrews really meant, especially in the golfing world. I think now that I am a little bit older, I was just able to enjoy the town, the history, and just realize what a special place St. Andrews is. I truly enjoyed the experience, and to win the tournament was the cherry on top of the cake. I did not expect to win because the biggest moment of my career happened two weeks ago at the Olympics. To have two amazing wins in such a short amount of time, I was not really sure if that was even possible. However, winning the AIG Women's Open was special. It was probably the major that I thought I had the least chance of winning just because I did not really grow up on links golf. My previous experiences playing on links courses were not particularly great, so I just wanted to enjoy it. I had a lot of family members there and made a lot of good memories. I was thinking that potentially this is my last AIG Women's Open at St. Andrews, so I just wanted to be like a sponge and soak everything up.
Coming down the 18th hole, with everybody going over the Swilcan Bridge, seeing all the crowds behind the green and on the right with The R&A building right there, it is a very, very surreal experience. You feel like you are walking into a postcard almost. To say that I won at St. Andrews is surreal, given only a very small group of people that can say that. It is definitely something that I am going to be proud of for a long time. It is really funny because my husband and I were watching the highlights from the Sunday there yesterday. He was there at the time and we both cried after I won, and when we were watching on the couch last night, we were both bawling again, so it was a very emotional and special moment for us.
Q: Outside of the golfing world, what are some of your personal passions or routines that help you maintain balance and focus on the course – especially with the highs and lows of a demanding professional golf career?
LK: I have been working with a mental coach for the past three or four years now, which is nice. Sometimes, we talk about personal things that is very unrelated to golf, and sometimes, we talk about the stress and pressure of golf or how I need to deal with being uncomfortable when I am out there playing. I think having her is really important because she says that she is like a trash bin at times where I just need to dump some of the things that I do not necessarily need onto her. To have somebody like her that I can talk to on a weekly basis has been really helpful.
Through her, I have also come to realize how much growth I have had as a golfer and as a person. She has been a very important aspect outside of just practicing and hitting balls and all the repetition to just make me become more secure about myself personally and myself as a golfer.
Q: As you continue to inspire the next generation of golfers, what legacy do you hope to leave in the sport, both in terms of your achievements and your influence off the course?
LK: I want to be remembered like Mr. Arnold Palmer, a people's person. Somebody where even if I was at a tournament, a junior or a fan can come up to me and ask a question or ask for an autograph. Arnold Palmer was obviously one of the best and his logo with the umbrella is also something that a lot of people remember him by, but a lot of people remember him for being a people's person. I think that is also so inspiring because that is the kind of person I want to be remembered for.
Q: It's been 10 years since you claimed your first major title at The Amundi Evian Championship. How significant is this return for you, both personally and professionally?
LK: I am super excited. It is a couple of months earlier than when we used to play. It is just a beautiful place, overlooking Lake Geneva, and for me, having my partners there, it is a special event in so many ways outside of just the golf tournament itself. When you go back to a place that you played so frequently at, you get to know the spectators as well. There is a little girl that comes with her parents that have watched me at The Amundi Evian Championship, and she even came to the AIG Women's Open last year. You really get to know the community, so I am excited for my 10-year anniversary there. Time has gone by quick. Ten years, you think that is a long time, but in the world of golf, it feels like it has not been a very long time. Hopefully, I can have a good go at my 10-year defense, especially at a place where it was my first major win. It is going to be a very special place for me, whether I am still playing or not, and one that I just know that I will never really forget.
Q: Returning 10 years later, what emotions do you anticipate as you tee off once again at a place where you made history?
LK: I am probably going to try and approach this year's edition as a new chapter. The golf course has changed a little bit, and the golf course has been dictated quite a lot in the past by the weather conditions, whether it is going to be that beautiful July summer day, or it could potentially be very wet. Those are just the things you have got to deal with when you are playing higher up in the mountains. My game has changed a lot since 2015. When I won there, I hit it much shorter off the tee and hit a little bit of a draw. Now, I am back to my natural shape of hitting a fade and I carry it at least 10 to 15 yards further than before. Some of the holes are very different, so every year I go back and try to play the golf course to how I am playing there and then. I think that is just the smartest way for me to approach the tournament.