Lydia Ko succeeds Nelly Korda as Grant Thornton's leading ambassador

LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko has landed another major sponsor to support her professional golf career. The Kiwi is the new ambassador for Grant Thornton, succeeding her colleague Nelly Korda.

Lydia Ko herself broke the news by posting her promotional photo for the Grant Thornton brand on her Instagram stories. Ko accompanied the image with the following caption:

"Exited to join the @grantthorntonusa family"

Image via Instagram @lydsko

Lydia Ko will be joined by other stars in her role as golf ambassador. These include her Grant Thornton Invitational teammate Jason Day, long-time Grant Thornton Ambassador Tony Finau and double Major champion Lilia Vu.

Of the four current brand ambassadors, Ko is the one who has achieved the most success in her career, with three Major championships, an Olympic gold medal and a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame to name a few of her countless accomplishments.

About this new step in her career, Lydia Ko had this to say (via www.grantthornton.com):

"As the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational champion alongside Jason Day, I love seeing how Grant Thornton has brought the two tours together and has broken down barriers. I’m excited for what's ahead."

Nelly Korda served as an ambassador for Grant Thornton from 2021 to 2024, a period during which she and her sister Jessica held the same role. During this time, the Grant Thornton Invitational was born, with Nelly and Tony Finau as its main promotional images.

The two played as a team in the first edition and were entered for the second before Finau withdrew while recovering from surgery.

Korda has not officially announced the end of her relationship with this sponsor, but her name and image have been removed from the list of brand ambassadors in the Grant Thornton official website.

Who are Lydia Ko's main sponsors?

Lydia Ko has signed several major sponsorship deals in recent weeks. In addition to Grant Thornton, she has signed deals with fashion brand Boss Golf and hospitality giant Hilton Grand Vacations.

Other major Ko sponsors include financial institution Hana Bank, golf brand Ecco, apparel company Renoma and golf equipment manufacturer Golf Partner.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Ko has a net worth of $25 million (July 2024). This value is influenced by the more-than $17 million she has earned from her sports results.

From a financial perspective, Ko's best season was in 2022, when she earned more than $4 million thanks to 14 top-10 finishes, including three victories. Ko has had one other season with more than $3 million in earnings (2024), three others with more than $2 million (2014, 2015, 2016), and three others with more than $1 million (2017, 2018, 2021).

Ko has won 22 events on the LPGA Tour, including three Major championships. She has also won eight other official tournaments on other tours, including the Ladies European Tour. As for unofficial tournaments, she won the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational (2023) with Jason Day.

Other major accomplishments in her career have come at the Olympic Games, where she has won three medals in as many appereances, including the gold medal at Paris 2024, which gave her the final point needed to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame.