The secret behind Lydia Ko’s new outlook on life that helped her back to the top

This time last year, Lydia Ko was in the slump so bad she didn’t even qualify for the LPGA’s season-ending Tour Championship she had won 12 months prior.

Sixteen cuts made from 20 starts doesn’t tell the whole story of a season that yielded just two top-tens and $247,000 earned – the lowest amount the New Zealander has banked in a single season since she join the paid ranks a decade ago.

Now, though, Ko is back at Tiburon chasing a third victory in the tour’s traditional final curtain, having won four times in 2024 – including the Women’s Open to take one more step toward the Grand Slam and a gold medal at the Olympics – to book her spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

It’s the latest chapter in a storybook career so other-worldly you have to keep reminding yourself she’s still only 27.

• Lydia Ko issues latest retirement hint

• LPGA stars respond to Charley Hull’s slow play outburst

And Ko, speaking in her pre-tournament press conference ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship, admitted her ups and downs have been a result of her ongoing battle with not only the psychological side of the game, but her mental health away from it.

“I started working with my current mental coach a few years ago, and she has been an unbelievable help,” Ko explained. “Sometimes we talk about private things unrelated to golf. As much as we try and differentiate golf and the things outside of the golf course, they all kind of blend together. We’re one human being with one brain. Everything kind of melds.

“Unfortunately how I perform on the golf course affects me off the course and vice versa. Being able to have somebody I fully trust and I can talk to about things has been great.

“I think she cleared and helped me clear those demons I had in my head.”

Ko also revealed how one significant change in her personal life has had a positive impact on her wellbeing – a Shiba Inu puppy called Kai that her and husband Chung Jun adopted in May.

“He’s been awesome,” Ko smiled. “Questionable at times, but this is the first time I’ve had my own dog, and I have a lot of learning experiences through him, [including] patience.

“And I was like, ‘Wow, if it’s this difficult with a dog I wonder what it would be like when you actually have a human baby.’ He’s just so much fun and he keeps us really active.

“It’s just been great to have another goofy ball of energy, and sometimes I can’t keep up with his running pace as he runs away from me. It’s been a great step for us and I feel like our family just got bigger.”

Explaining how Kai has had an impact on her outlook on the game, Ko added: “The first time he actually came to a tournament with me was at the Canadian Open. I played really well the first couple days [but] the third day I had a mediocre day. A bogey finish on any golf course, in any situation, is not the best place to be.

“And I remember I came back to my host family’s house and he was there and he was like, ‘Oh, how was your day? My day was great!’ That kind of energy he had towards me, he was super loving and excited to see me. I saw him and I was like, ‘There is so much more to life than what I just shot and there is always tomorrow.’ That week was the first time in a long time I travelled by myself, too, so it was great to have company.

“My husband once asked me an ultimatum. He said, ‘Would you rather win one more major in the future and then not be able to see Kai or not know Kai, or would you just rather have Kai and know you’re never going to win a major anymore?’ You know what? I can still call myself a major champion. I would rather not win a major and have Kai in my life.

“At the US Women’s Open, I realised I have both, the best of both worlds. It’s been great. A new life in my life and so many other great things on the golf course.

“So it’s literally been a year of a fairy tale. I’m just so grateful for this whole season.”

• LPGA announces major changes for 2025 season

• Rising star hit with slow play penalty in first pro start

Ko’s season also earned her the LPGA’s Heather Farr Perseverance Award, which is handed to the player who “through her hard work, dedication, and love of the game of golf, has demonstrated determination, perseverance, and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player”.

“That means a lot,” she added. “Especially because it is voted on by the fellow players on tour. We all go through a lot of things, whether it’s golf related or things off the golf course. To be recognised for the journey that I’ve had, it’s a huge honour.”

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor