Lydia Ko has yet to have a fulfilling Olympic outing. Having had near-misses in 2016 and 2020, the New Zealand golfer is now eyeing a ‘fairytale story’ at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ko has now disclosed that qualifying for the international event was one of her “biggest goals” this year and admitted that she wishes to win it.
For the unversed, Ko is a two-time medalist at the Olympics. The 26-year-old won silver in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago and settled for bronze in Tokyo four years later. Making it to the Olympics for the third straight time wasn’t easy.
Lydia Ko registered just two top-ten finishes throughout the regular season, making 2023 one of her worst years on the LPGA Tour. However, the two-time major champion registered a win at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational alongside Jason Day and ended the season strong. She now has her eyes on the prize at the upcoming Olympics.
Speaking about her Olympic ambitions after winning the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Lydia Ko said:
"I think the Olympics was probably one of my biggest goals going into this year. I played in the 2016 Olympics as a number one ranked player and I think there was a lot of pressure… I was able to come off with the silver medal and in Tokyo I was kind of like ‘oh I already have a medal.’ So, it's like what have I got to lose. So, I think I was able to play with that mindset, actually play better and play a little bit more aggressively and end up winning a bronze medal.
So, I think in my perfect fairytale story I would win gold and have the three collections of the three different medals. But sometimes it is literally a fairytale. And the Olympics is the best of the bests of each country the best athletes there and to be able to represent your country is just to win itself. So, I'm going to enjoy it and The National is very different to the other two golf courses we played. I think it going to be really tough."
Lydia Ko wins the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions
Ko registered her 20th LPGA Tour victory at the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Sunday. The Kiwi golfer finished at 14-under 274. She beat runner-up Alexa Pano by two shots at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club.
Ko carded a two-under-par finish, including four birdies and two bogeys. She scored a final round 70 and defeated Pano who matched the Sunday score.
With the win, Lydia Ko bagged the $225,000 winner’s paycheck. The prize money took her career earnings to $17,167,692, making her the fifth LPGA player to cross the $17 million mark in official career earnings. She also became the seventh LPGA golfer to register 20 title wins on the circuit before turning 27.