Lydia Ko’s fairytale finish awaits. A gold medal at the Paris Olympics would secure Ko’s spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame, the toughest Hall in all of sports to get into. It would also put her in rarified air as the only golfer to boast all three medals, a feat that might not ever be matched.
Currently, she’s the only golfer to have two: a silver from 2016 and a bronze from 2020.
“I think it’s going to be the toughest Olympics as of yet,” said Ko of the test presented by Le Golf National.
The competition for the 60-player field gets underway on Wednesday, giving the women a limited amount of time to practice. Ko played the front nine on Sunday with Japan’s Yuka Saso as the men’s competition finished up. She arrived on Saturday and watched a little golf late in the afternoon, cheering on her fellow Kiwis.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler took home the gold in the men’s competition and Nelly Korda, the women’s No. 1, looks to add a second gold medal to her collection this week.
Korda won six of her first eight starts in 2024 before her game left her for a brief stretch over the summer, when she missed three straight cuts. She took some time off visiting with friends in Croatia before grinding in the weeks leading up to Paris.
“As a kid, I watched so many athletes and all their raw emotions on that podium when their flag goes up and the National Anthem,” said Korda.
“And when I finally got to do it myself, there was a massive rush of emotions that went through me.”
Silver medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand, gold medalist Inbee Park of Korea and bronze medalist Shanshan Feng of China pose on the podium during the medal ceremony at the 2016 Olympics at the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Ko’s season started off strong with a victory at the season-opening event at her home course, Lake Nona, in Orlando, Florida, followed by a playoff loss to Korda in her hometown of Bradenton.
Like Korda, the 27-year-old’s momentum hit the brakes, however, and she only just started rounding back into form in Canada two weeks ago. Ko’s feeling more confident but playing it cool.
“I’m not trying to push it,” she said, before admitting that it would be a “hell of a way” to get into the Hall of Fame.
An Olympic gold medal is now worth one Hall of Fame point, a criteria change that was implemented in 2022. Ko has 26 of the 27 points needed to become the Hall’s 35th member. Inbee Park, the 2016 gold medalist, was the last player to be inducted, not long before the Rio Games. Both Korda and Park were retroactively awarded a point for their gold medals.
Ko has kept her team in Paris small again, just older sister Sura and New Zealand’s High Performance manager. She tries to keep her routine similar to any other event on the LPGA schedule, which has worked well in the past, missing the Opening Ceremony and passing on watching other sports.
So much life has transpired since Ko competed in her first Olympic Games. She was No. 1 in the world in Brazil and feeling tremendous pressure.
“I remember the first tee shot, I barely made contact on my driver,” she said. “That’s how nervous I was.”
In Tokyo, she tried to enjoy it more. She’s had droughts and disappointments in those eight years, but she’s also been on top of the mountain, winning six times and marrying the love of her life since the Rio Games. She dropped as low as 59th in the world during her slump, and climbed back to No. 1 in 2022, only to struggle mightily the following year.
“I think it’s been really cool to come to these Games at different points in my career,” said Ko, adding that time has gone by quickly and that she’s grateful.
A 20-time winner on the LPGA, Ko’s trophy room in Lake Nona was converted into a gym during the COVID-19 pandemic. The medals aren’t in there though. In fact, she hasn’t seen either medal since she since won.
Nelly Korda, Mone Inami and Lydia Ko and celebrate with their medals on the podium at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)
She’s “pretty sure” the Tokyo bronze is somewhere in her sister’s apartment in South Korea, and the silver is in her dad’s closet.
“Tokyo, because of circumstances, I was only there with my sister and my performance manager and my grandmother had unfortunately passed the day I was leaving for Tokyo,” recalled Ko. “I asked my sister, who was going to Korea from Japan, to take it back and show it to my parents and also, hopefully, take it to grandma’s grave. That was kind of the meaning on why it went to her place.”
Should she win gold, Ko said she’d take them both back and find a way to showcase all three together.
For the player who’s always said she’d retire from the tour by age 30, this might be her last shot at gold.