Lydia Ko issues retirement update after huge wins

Lydia Ko has just enjoyed the best month of her career.

The New Zealander won Olympic gold in Paris before conquering the Old Course to win the AIG Women’s Open last week.

But the 27-year-old insists she is sticking firm on her retirement plans despite the monumental success.

“I know for a fact I’m probably never playing past 30,” Ko told Radio New Zealand.

“What has happened in the last few weeks doesn’t change my timeline. I want to leave the game while I’m still playing well.

“I want to leave it still feeling like maybe I could have done more and still with the love of the game.”

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Retiring before 30 had always been the aim for the South Korean-born Kiwi, who made her professional debut at the age of 16.

She had, however, already won twice as an amateur on the LPGA Tour before winning her first major in 2015 and becoming world No.1 two years later.

Ko’s win in St Andrews this month marked the end of an eight-year major drought, but golf is no longer the only obsession in her life.

The Hall of Famer is recently married and said: “Golf doesn’t complete me, it’s just part of me, but that’s not me as a whole.

“I got married to an amazing person that, you know, now that I can call my husband. And I’m a dog mum. Just you know, so many crazy things on and off the golf course.”

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While winning gold at the Games completed a rare medal slam, it also pulled the curtain over a difficult period for Ko, who was winless on the LPGA Tour last year.

“I’m definitely the type where I kind of sit on my feelings and all that and I’m not always super vocal about what I’m going through,” Ko said.

“But my family has always been there for me, and especially my sister.”

At the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open earlier this month, Ko said she would make her decision at the end of the 2024 season.

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 Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.