Lydia Ko was capable of chuckle about her tough begin to final yr’s Grant Thornton Invitational on Thursday.
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If you realize something about LPGA star Lydia Ko, “nervous” just isn’t an adjective you’d doubtless use to explain her.
The previous World No. 1 (and present No. 3) has put collectively the sort of profession document that may solely be achieved by somebody with ice operating via her veins.
That stellar document features a whopping 22 LPGA Tour wins, three main titles and a full set of Olympic medals. And none of that is new — she’s being doing wonderful issues on the golf course since she was a literal child (she captured her first LPGA win at 15 years outdated).
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It’s arduous to think about how a participant like that would get nervous in competitors. Her taking part in associate at this week’s Grant Thornton Invitational, Jason Day, may hardly imagine it himself when Ko addressed the intense nerves she confronted in her debut on the combined PGA Tour-LPGA Tour occasion final yr.
“I don’t perceive the way you’re nervous,” Day, who was her teammate final yr as nicely, stated throughout their joint press convention Thursday at Tiburon Golf Membership.
Nevertheless it seems greats like Ko can get nervous, and he or she was very a lot so within the early goings of the 2023 Grant Thornton final December. So nervous, that she misplaced management of her tee pictures, and even duffed one, no less than as she sees it.
“It was really fairly embarrassing as a result of truthfully I don’t assume I hit a single fairway on the entrance 9 and I keep in mind duffing a driver,” Ko defined on Thursday. “I used to be like oh, man, I really feel so dangerous he has to play with me. It’s like there’s no selection, proper?”
Why? For one, taking part in alongside PGA Tour execs took some changes.
“As a lot as it’s acquainted, it’s totally different. I haven’t had that a lot expertise taking part in with different like male Tour execs and particularly anyone that I’ve seemed as much as and seen on TV for a very very long time,” Ko stated of teaming up with Day final yr.
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However she added that Day did all the things he may to make her comfy, saying, “Jason was nice. He requested me questions on what I used to be engaged on in my recreation and we have been speaking about pitching and all that.”
Happily for Ko, the nerves appeared to put on off midway via the primary spherical.
“It was a really new expertise, however by Friday, mid-Friday I believe I used to be capable of eliminate the nerves and deal with what I used to be doing,” she stated. “However our complete staff with our caddies, we simply had an important dynamic and only a good time on the market and I believe that simply helped with, you realize, simply not interested by the outcomes and we have been getting extra excited and simply pumping one another up. On the finish I believe that was one of many greatest issues on why we have been capable of have such success final yr.”
