Lydia Ko details surreal Augusta trip (and reveals her score)

Everyone is in the Masters mood as the first major of the season at Augusta National looms.

The iconic event will get underway two weeks today, and several players will be envious of LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko.

Why, you ask? Because the New Zealander took the trip down Magnolia Lane in December, getting a first taste of Pink Dogwood and Amen Corner.

While it might have been much quieter, it certainly wasn’t playing any easier.

“I had texted Jason Day actually after my first round and I said, this course is so hard,” Ko told Golfweek. “I’m so glad I’m not playing it in a tournament because it would kick my butt.”

• The Masters: Early betting favourites

• The Masters: Long-range weather forecast predicts bad news!

The three-time major champ was playing with her husband Jun Chung, who is a quality player in his own right. Ko has caddied for him whilst he played in a US Am Tour event.

The pair played two rounds and Ko shot 71-70 on her own ball, a very respectable effort on her first try at the par-72 layout.

“I think because of how sectioned off the greens are, it was really difficult to just get really close to the pins and set up a lot of birdie opportunities,” she recalled.

“But on the last day, I finished off with a birdie on the 18th, so that was a perfect way to cap off the trip.”

Ko has been to Augusta National before, though. She received the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year Award at the venue in 2016 and caddied for Kevin Na in the Par 3 Contest.

But upon actually teeing it up, the course caught Ko off guard.

• The Masters: Jim Nantz outlines “scheduled retirement date”

• Xander Schauffele calls for TGL change – but it could cause problems

“Wow, this is not what I thought it was going to look like,” she said was her reaction on every tee box. “I think the elevation and just the shape of the holes.

“I thought it was just a slight dogleg, but No. 2 was ultra downhill and it kind of swings to the left, but the slope goes left to right.

“I was like, wow, I understand now, and that’s like one of the more fairly easier holes for the guys, I think, when they play.”

The idea of a women’s Masters has long been floated, although the event is yet to be given the green light.

At last year’s AIG Women’s Open, Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh admitted that she hopes that dream becomes a reality one day.

“I think that we will get there eventually,” she said. “I don’t think it will be when I’m still playing, that’s my prediction.

“But it would be great to have a women’s professional event there. It’s obviously a nice step in the right direction that we’ve got an amateur event there now but, yeah, I’d love to see a professional event there.”

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.