Georgie Bingham: a tribute to my girl crush Lydia Ko
Lydia Ko of New Zealand waves on the 18th hole during the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images).
Previously I wrote about how much of a losing game golf is, then Rory McElroy and Jon Rahm went and made themselves the winningest on the DP World Tour.
I think we can conclude it’s been a strange year in golf - but the more the pair have found their moral voices in the sport the more they have seemed to thrive. I obviously enjoy this righteously. I am of course still Team Rory to the hilt so what would you expect.
Enough of that though - can we though take the rest of this end of season love in to pay tribute, girl-crush-style to Lydia Ko? I rarely write about women’s golf - I suppose so many years covering men’s sports means that I am not as comfortable in the female arena - I have to hold my hands up to that - but also because my interest in the women’s game has increased now I have more time to pay attention to it (instead of just football football football) and due to it’s increased visibility on Sky.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand reacts after missing a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
I am pretty sure that Lydia Ko isn’t human. She’s actually etherial. I am convinced of this. She makes the game look so beautiful I don’t really need to see anyone else hit a ball when she’s on form. I can’t even start to emphasise how much I envy her game; she has poise, and accuracy but mostly I envy her calm.
“I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been to have peaked at 15 and then become an adult and go again. Not many teenage prodigies manage it”
She’s ice. Her form at the CME where she secured her Player of the Year Crown, topped the money list and locked in a third LPGA victory of the season was one of those weeks. I think I admire Ko especially because it’s easy to forget she is only 25. She’s in a second-coming and it’s been a long time arriving. I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been to have peaked at 15 and then become an adult and go again. Not many teenage prodigies manage it.
Lydia Ko of North Harbour plays a tee shot at the 13th hole during the semi-finals on the final day of the Women's Interprovincial Golf Championship at Miramar Golf Course on December 4, 2010 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images).
I noted in one of the many reports about her win in Florida that she is also now due to get married so it seems all is going her way. I went out and pretended I was Lydia Ko last week, like a child who goes out and hits a tennis ball for hours after watching Wimbledon. I think her game is so good to watch I aim to hit like her. That’s the biggest compliment a sportsperson can ever be paid. No? I hope she gives me plenty more girl-sport-crush material for years to come.
Georgie Bingham, broadcaster and journalist, writes a bi-weekly column for The Cut Stuff. She’s golf obsessed. She’s ready to go behind the tour.
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