2021 Lydia Ko Mixtape: Another Consistent Spring
Lydia Ko enjoyed a glorious win at the Ladies International in Saudi Arabia last weekend and while there is a hefty gap between wins for Ko, her consistency is key. Ko's only other win this year was at the Lotte Championship back in April and Ko has nine top-10 finishes in 18 LPGA Tour tournaments this year as well as an Olympic bronze, a tied-5th on the Korean LPGA tour to go with this win on the European Tour
The second half of this year looks a lot like Ko's second half of 2020 on the LPGA Tour. Here's how Ko's results looked last year from September onwards; 6th, T42, T18, T8, T4, T13, T5. No wins there, although Ko steadily stacked up impressive results and that has proven to be a fantastic foundation for Ko's 2021.
It's been a tricky few weeks following Ko as she's dipped outside the LPGA Tour to play the Hana Championship in Korea and then this stop in Saudi Arabia for the European Tour. Chuck in the Tokyo Olympics and these fall outside the convenience of her LPGA Tour profile and the stats aren't recorded. We can still get a gauge of Ko's mahi through her LPGA stats though as the recipe for Ko is still the same; maybe the best short game in the world, keep it simple off the tee.
Average Driving Distance
2019: 245.47m - 152nd.
2020: 254.41m - 57th.
Previous 2021 update: 259.63m - 64th.
November 2021: 259.44m - 63rd.
Driving Accuracy
2019: 70.08% - 102nd.
2020: 66.62% - 121st.
Previous 2021 update: 63.10% - 143rd.
November 2021: 63.01% - 144th.
Scoring Average
2019: 70.98 - 39th.
2020: 70.26 - 6th.
Previous 2021 update: 69.69 - 3rd.
November 2021: 69.62 - 4th.
Greens in Regulation
2019: 67.73% - 96th.
2020: 68.91% - 36th.
Previous 2021 update: 71.50% - 57th.
November 2021: 72.14% - 38th.
Putts per GIR
2019: 1.78 - 23rd.
2020: 1.77 - 4th.
Previous 2021 update: 1.73 - 3rd.
November 2021: 1.73 - 2nd.
Putting Average
2019: 29.15 - 7th.
2020: 29.13 - 5th.
Previous 2021 update: 28.76 - 3rd.
November 2021: 28.82 - 2nd.
Sand Saves
2019: 55.95% - 10th.
2020: 68.25% - 3rd.
Previous 2021 update: 57.33% - 9th.
November 2021: 59.30% - 5th.
There is continued improvement in Ko's driving distance, although that has come at the expense of a few accuracy points. Ko has been top-10 for putting and sand saves since (at least) 2019. That's the crux of Ko's gritty kiwi vibe as she doesn't dominate through power, Ko is all about efficiency when it matters most. Now she is set to play the Pelican Women's Championship (starting tonight) where she finished T4 last year.
I'll save the overall wrap stuff for the end of year mixtape, but right now I'm pondering how epic this year has been for Ko. Ko has set up shop among the best players in the world through her consistency and one must wonder whether regular top-10 or top-5 finishes are better than a win mixed around poor results.
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Peace and love.