“You can never get too cocky” – World No. 1 Lydia Ko says her game ‘has become more fun’ after marriage

Lydia Ko has credited her husband Chung Jun for reigniting her love for golf. The 25-year-old got married in December.

Ko was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of Thursday’s HSBC Women’s World Championship

"Before, I thought I would rather do other things than fun golf because golf is my profession," Ko said. “But now I enjoy playing nine holes on a Saturday during an off week and my job has become more fun and enjoyable."

She added that through her husband, she was able to get a better perspective on life and realized that the game shouldn't dictate how she sees herself.

Ko returned to golf last month after a wedding and honeymoon break. She won the Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour followed by a tied-sixth-place finish at the LPGA Thailand last week, which was won by Thai prodigy Lilia Vu.

The Kiwi has been in some great form since last year when she regained the World No. 1 position after five years and won thrice on the LPGA Tour. She also won the Player of the Year for her fantastic year.

However, she admitted that being the top golfer in the world rankings doesn't mean one can get overconfident about that given how tight the competition is at the top.

Lydia Ko said:

“I think you can never get too cocky about what ranked player you are because especially at the top, it is so tight and everyone is playing really well, and you can't say, I'm going to be there forever."

She said that one should gain confidence and belief in oneself. However, she added that one can't take anything for granted as nothing comes easy as she's been playing alongside the best golfers all year.

“Everybody’s going to have their ups and downs," Ko said "But to manage that, to make sure that the lows aren’t super low and you don’t get too high for the highs, just having gone through a little bit of those things, I’m able to just accept it a lot better now.”

Ko became No. 1 for the first time in 2015 when she was just 19 years old. She returned to the top in 2015 and stayed there until June 2017 for 85 weeks. Her form then took a hit and she didn't win anything on the Tour until April 2021.

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Lydia Ko and other top golfers to compete in HSBC Women’s World Championship

The HSBC Women’s World Championship kicks off on Thursday, March 2nd

Lydia Ko, along with several top golfers, will be playing the HSBC Women’s World Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club, which takes place from Thursday, March 2nd to March 5th. Eighteen of the world's top 20 professionals, including World No. 2 Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, and others will be competing at the Sentosa Golf. Ko Jin-Young is the defending champion at the event.

The 72-players field will feature 38 of the top 50 golfers in the world. The purse size of the tournament is $1.8 million