Lydia Ko

EVENT: Women's Golf

Lydia Ko is a three-time Olympic medallist and LPGA Hall of Fame inductee.

Ko has done her country proud and has a complete set of Olympic medals, winning gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, silver at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and bronze in Tokyo in 2021. Her pride in representing New Zealand at the Olympics was obvious to all who watched.

In Paris, Ko was consistent and smart with her golf. On the final day of competition she built a five-shot lead on the back nine at Le Golf National as her closest pursuers all collapsed, and then had to hang on until the very end. Her lead down to one, Ko made a 7-foot birdie putt for a 1-under 71 and a two-shot victory.

Her gold medal win saw her gain the required points for LPGA Hall of Fame status, and she was inducted into the elite club after her medal ceremony.

In Tokyo, Ko shot 70, 67, 66, 65 for an impressive 16-under par total to finish second-equal with Mone Inami, one shot behind Nellie Korda. The Japanese player won the play-off for silver. Those watching were struck by Ko's extreme good sportsmanship, to the point of her encouraging Inami even during the play-off.

Ko, only 19 at the time, included a hole in one in her final round in Rio, and finished five shots behind gold medallist Inbee Park, but ahead of a large pack of talented golfers desperately hunting medals. She shot 69, 70, 65, 69 for her 11 under par total of 273.

Ko, who was among the best golfers in the world even when she was only 14 and still an amateur, has had a glittering career, that includes not only her Olympic medals but three Majors and dozens of professional tournament wins.

She reached No 1 in the women's golf rankings on February 2, 2015, aged 17 years, 9 months, 9 days – the youngest player in professional golf to have reached No 1. She held the ranking for 85 weeks. She reclaimed the No 1 ranking in November 2022 and held it for a further 19 weeks.

Her list of achievements began very early. She was only seven in 2005 when she competed in the national amateur championship. She attended Pinehurst School in Albany and when she joined the professional golf tour.

In January 2012, aged 14, she became the youngest woman ever to win a professional golf tournament when she won the New South Wales Open.

In August 2012, aged 15 years, 4 months, Ko became the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour event, when she shot a 13-under 275 to win the Canadian Open. Ko successfully defended her Canadian title in 2014, shooting 265 for a five-stroke victory. Ko had become the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events.

She finally turned professional in 2014, having declined to claim more than $1 million in prizemoney because of her amateur status. She had been the world's top-ranked amateur for 130 weeks. In 2014 she was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.

When she won the Evian Championship in France in 2015, she became the youngest woman (18 years, 4 months, 20 days) to win a Major championship. Her closing round of 63 was a record lowest final round in the history of women's golf Majors, but she lowered that record with a 62 at the 2021 ANA Inspiration. She had previously won the ANA Inspiration in 2016 for her second consecutive Major championship.

In 2014 (at only 17), Ko was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people. In 2014 and 2015, Ko was named in the ESPN Women's Impact25 list of 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest impact on women's sport.

The records kept coming – at the ANA Inspiration in 2015, Ko shot a 1-under-par 71 in the first round to tie her with the great Annika Sörenstam for the LPGA record for consecutive rounds under par, at 29. In 2015, she was named LPGA Player of the Year, the youngest winner in the 49 years of the award.

In November 2022, Ko won the CME Group Tour Championship and with that title a US$2 million first-place prize. She completed the 2022 season with three wins, the LPGA Player of the Year award for the second time, the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average, and was the 2022 leading money winner.

In 2016, she was named Young New Zealander of the Year. Ko was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2019.

She was recognised early by the Halberg Academy and in 2012, aged just 15, won the Emerging Talent section of the Halberg Awards. That same year she was a finalist in the Sportswoman of the Year category. The following year, at 16, she won the Sportswoman of the Year and the Halberg Supreme Award. From 2013-15 she won the Sportswoman of the Year category and in 2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022 she was again a finalist in that category. Hardly surprisingly, she was named Emerging Talent Athlete of the Decade (2010-19). She won the NZOC's Lonsdale Cup in 2015.

Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1997 and moved to New Zealand with her family when she was four.