"He's got his official credential" - Lydia Ko introduces her four-legged friend at the HGV Tournament of Champions

Lydia Ko entered the finale of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions with her dog, Kai. The Kiwi golfer has been impressive at this week's LPGA Tour event and is also in contention to win the title.

After three rounds of the tournament, she was tied for third place with Nelly Korda, just four strokes behind the leader, A Lim Kim. In the press conference of the tournament on Saturday, February 1, Lydia Ko was asked about her four-legged companion at the tournament.

Speaking of her dog, Ko said (via ASAP Sports):

"His name is Kai. He's got his official credential. He's almost one and he's a handful. As many legs as he has he has this many to run away from me and already went for it earlier this week. So Megan Khang and Minjee and I were running after the guy, so, yeah, I'm hoping -- he's doing a lot of training and I'm hoping he stays a little bit close. It's obviously great to have that kind of company."

Lydia Ko has previously introduced her dog Kai to the golf world at last year's CME Group Tour Championship. Kai accompanied her at the tournament, and she also brought him to the press conference back in November 2024.

Her dog is a Shiba Inu breed, which she adopted in May 2024, and she often takes him to her golf tournaments.

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Lydia Ko opens up about her performance at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

Lydia Ko has been impressive with her game at the 2025 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. She had a rough start to the game with a round of 73 but improved as the game progressed.

She played a round of 67 on the second day, followed by the third round of 65. Following the Saturday round, Ko was tied for third place with Nelly Korda.

Speaking of her performance, the Kiwi golfer said (via ASAP Sports):

"Everything has been pretty solid. Even the first day I hit the ball decent. Really struggled on the greens. I think that part of my game has improved the most the past couple days. Golf is strange. I feel like I technically played better yesterday and even the 5-under, 7-under, they're both really good rounds."

"I shot a lower score today. Yeah, you know, it's definitely some good momentum going into tomorrow. No matter how I finish tomorrow, it's been so much fun getting to see some familiar faces that I've seen over the past few years and meeting new people," she added.

Meanwhile, A Lim Kim is leading at 15-under, followed by Linn Grant. The final of the tournament is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 2.