History Repeats Herself: Lydia Ko Successfully Defends 2013 CN Canadian Women’s Open

Lydia Ko (click to enlarge)

When Lydia Ko was 14 years old, she became the youngest winner of a professional golf tournament at the 2012 Bing Lee/Samsung Women’s New South Wales Open. Maybe some might have dismissed that victory as an historic achievement on a small tour. Later in 2012 Ko, having turned 15, would become the youngest winner of an LPGA event when she captured the 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open. At 15 years and 4 months old, she grabbed the attention of the golfing world. This was a player of truly historic relevance. However, I’ve been in enough golf forums to know there are always a few that think, ok you won an LPGA event…but maybe it was a fluke. Those naysayers believe you need a second win to validate the first, especially in Lydia’s case. Well, check that box off of the now 16-year old South Korean-born Kiwi’s resumé. Lydia sprinted away from the field on Sunday to win the 2013 CN Canadian Women’s Open, successfully defending her title. Along the way, she becomes the youngest winner of 2 LPGA tour events and the youngest to successfully defend a title.

Lydia finishes with a birdie on 18 (click to enlarge)

Lydia trailed Caroline Hedwall by 1 shot after the third round. Ko would make sure she left nothing out on the course, firing a final round 6-under 64 (par is 70). Next best on the day was 3-under by second place finisher Karine Icher. Third round contenders Hedwall and Suzann Pettersen stumbled with 1-over and 2-over rounds respectively. Lydia’s 15-under overall was 5 shots ahead of Icher. By the time she bent in her final birdie on 18, it was a coronation, not a competition.

Back to back champion (click to enlarge)

The constant question has been, is and will continue to be when will Lydia and/or the people handling her decide to turn pro. For the second straight year, her amateur status means the $300,000 winner’s purse will go to the second place finisher. Last year it was Inbee Park. This year it was Icher. Ko was quite clear in her press conference that she doesn’t care about the lost $300,000. Here’s my take. There’s nothing left for her to prove as an amateur. Yes, turning pro would mean golf becomes truly a job, and every shot would count. There is an extra pressure in that. However, I would suggest she turn pro. The con argument is that she has plenty of time to turn pro later. She doesn’t need the burden of being a professional. She should stay focused on going to college, as she has stated she would like to do. My position is that you never know about the future. Earlier this year Ariya Jutanugarn looked like she was on the verge of an LPGA victory until she had a freak accident while engaging in horseplay with her sister Moriya. It led to a shoulder injury. Ariya is rehabbing now but who knows how she will be when she returns. Maybe she’ll be just fine. That’s not really my point. Horseplay aside, all athletes can get injured. Over her career of playing professional events as an amateur, Lydia has left over a million dollars on the table. Heaven forbid she turns pro and gets injured…or simply burns out or has other interests. That’s a million dollars she won’t be able to get back. Maybe she’ll turn pro later, everything will be fine and she’ll have a long and prosperous career. But nobody can see the future. I say turn pro now. She can still stay in school and pick select events in which to compete. Turning pro doesn’t mean joining a tour, it just means making herself eligible for prizemoney.

BIRDIES

Stacy Prammanasudh had struggled this year with no top 10s. She finished tied for 5th for her first top 10 of 2013. She also qualifies for the CME Titleholders along with Lydia Ko and Caroline Masson.

Brittany Lincicome earned her best finished of the year with a tie for 3rd. 4 solid rounds under par.

Hall of Famer Juli Inkster bounced back from 3 straight missed cuts to finish with a nice tie for 24th.

BOGEYS

Cristie Kerr struggled her last two rounds. Clearly, she looked worn out from Solheim. A lot of players from Solheim seemed to fade down the stretch.

6-time LPGA winner Hee Won Han still looking for her first top 10 of the year. Finished tied for 65th.

Date	Tournament	Location	Winner	Purse ($)	First prize ($)	Titleholders qualifiers
Feb 14–17	ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open	Australia	Jiyai Shin (11)	1,200,000	180,000	Jiyai Shin  Yani Tseng  Moriya Jutanugarn
Feb 21–24	Honda LPGA Thailand	Thailand	Inbee Park (4)	1,500,000	225,000	Inbee Park  So Yeon Ryu  Beatriz Recari
Feb 28 – Mar 3	HSBC Women’s Champions	Singapore	Stacy Lewis (6)	1,400,000	210,000	Stacy Lewis  Na Yeon Choi  Paula Creamer
Mar 14–17	RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup	Arizona	Stacy Lewis (7)	1,500,000	225,000	Ai Miyazato  Angela Stanford  Jessica Korda
Mar 21–24	Kia Classic	California	Beatriz Recari (2)	1,700,000	255,000	I.K. Kim  Pornanong Phatlum  Mo Martin
Apr 4–7	Kraft Nabisco Championship	California	Inbee Park (5)	2,000,000	300,000	Caroline Hedwall  Suzann Pettersen  Haeji Kang
Apr 17–20	LPGA Lotte Championship	Hawaii	Suzann Pettersen (11)	1,700,000	255,000	Lizette Salas  Shanshan Feng  Hee-Kyung Seo
Apr 25–28	North Texas LPGA Shootout	Texas	Inbee Park (6)	1,300,000	195,000	Carlota Ciganda  Hee-Young Park  Karine Icher
May 2–5	Kingsmill Championship	Virginia	Cristie Kerr (16)	1,300,000	195,000	Cristie Kerr  Ilhee Lee  Gerina Piller
May 16–19	Mobile Bay LPGA Classic	Alabama	Jennifer Johnson (1)	1,200,000	180,000	Jennifer Johnson  Karrie Webb  Anna Nordqvist
May 23–26	Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic	Bahamas	Ilhee Lee (1)	1,300,000	195,000	Irene Cho  Mika Miyazato  Mindy Kim
May 31 – Jun 2	ShopRite LPGA Classic	New Jersey	Karrie Webb (39)	1,500,000	225,000	Jenny Shin  Jeong Jang  Chie Arimura
Jun 6–9	Wegmans LPGA Championship	New York	Inbee Park (7)	2,250,000	375,000	Catriona Matthew  Morgan Pressel  Amy Yang
Jun 21–23	Walmart NW Arkansas Championship	Arkansas	Inbee Park (8)	2,000,000	300,000	Brittany Lang  Juli Inkster  Brooke Pancake
Jun 27–30	U.S. Women’s Open	New York	Inbee Park (9)	3,250,000	585,000	Jodi Ewart Shadoff  Brittany Lincicome  Lexi Thompson
Jul 11–14	Manulife Financial LPGA Classic	Ontario	Hee-Young Park (2)	1,300,000	195,000	Meena Lee  Austin Ernst  Hanna Kang
Jul 18–21	Marathon Classic	Ohio	Beatriz Recari (3)	1,300,000	195,000	Jacqui Concolino  Se Ri Pak  Chella Choi
Aug 1–4	Ricoh Women’s British Open	Scotland	Stacy Lewis (8)	2,750,000	402,584	Natalie Gulbis  Nicole Castrale  Pernilla Lindberg
Aug 16–18	Solheim Cup	Colorado	Europe	n/a
Aug 22–25	CN Canadian Women’s Open	Alberta	Lydia Ko (2) (a)	2,000,000	300,000	Lydia Ko (a)  Stacy Prammanasudh  Caroline Masson

ALL PICS CLICK TO ENLARGE

LYDIA KO

SUZANN PETTERSEN

CAROLINE HEDWALL

JODI EWART SHADOFF

BRITTANY LINCICOME

PAULA CREAMER

GERINA PILLER

KARINE ICHER

IN KYUNG KIM

JESSICA KORDA

CHARLEY HULL

DANIELLE KANG

CATRIONA MATTHEW

AI MIYAZATO

STACY PRAMMANASUDH

YANI TSENG

KATHLEEN EKEY

SANDRA GAL

Pos	Name	1	2	3	4	Today	Thru	Total	Strokes
1	Lydia Ko	65	69	67	64	-6	F	-15	265
2	Karine Icher	67	66	70	67	-3	F	-10	270
T3	Brittany Lincicome	68	68	66	69	-1	F	-9	271
T3	Caroline Hedwall	68	68	64	71	+1	F	-9	271
T5	Stacy Prammanasudh	68	67	69	68	-2	F	-8	272
T5	I.K. Kim	71	66	65	70	E	F	-8	272
T7	Caroline Masson	70	67	67	69	-1	F	-7	273
T7	Suzann Pettersen	69	67	65	72	+2	F	-7	273
9	Gerina Piller	70	66	67	71	+1	F	-6	274
T10	Jessica Korda	70	66	68	71	+1	F	-5	275
T10	Paula Creamer	66	68	69	72	+2	F	-5	275
T10	Jodi Ewart Shadoff	71	66	67	71	+1	F	-5	275
T13	Mika Miyazato	70	67	70	69	-1	F	-4	276
T13	Inbee Park	67	65	74	70	E	F	-4	276
T13	Angela Stanford	65	68	73	70	E	F	-4	276
T13	Brittany Lang	70	67	68	71	+1	F	-4	276
T17	Na Yeon Choi	67	71	70	69	-1	F	-3	277
T17	Catriona Matthew	70	66	71	70	E	F	-3	277
T17	Charley Hull	69	66	71	71	+1	F	-3	277
T20	Anna Nordqvist	70	70	70	68	-2	F	-2	278
T20	Ai Miyazato	70	68	71	69	-1	F	-2	278
T20	Cristie Kerr	66	66	75	71	+1	F	-2	278
T20	Lexi Thompson	71	65	69	73	+3	F	-2	278
T24	Pernilla Lindberg	70	69	72	68	-2	F	-1	279
T24	Juli Inkster	69	72	69	69	-1	F	-1	279
T24	Danielle Kang	71	67	69	72	+2	F	-1	279
T24	Jiyai Shin	74	66	67	72	+2	F	-1	279
T24	Yani Tseng	72	68	66	73	+3	F	-1	279
T29	Mina Harigae	73	69	69	69	-1	F	E	280
T29	Haeji Kang	72	68	70	70	E	F	E	280
T29	Christel Boeljon	65	72	71	72	+2	F	E	280
T29	Sandra Gal	72	68	69	71	+1	F	E	280
T29	Chella Choi	69	70	69	72	+2	F	E	280
T34	Eun-Hee Ji	70	72	69	70	E	F	+1	281
T34	Carlota Ciganda	69	72	69	71	+1	F	+1	281
T34	So Yeon Ryu	73	68	68	72	+2	F	+1	281
T34	Kathleen Ekey	71	64	71	75	+5	F	+1	281
T38	Shanshan Feng	68	72	71	71	+1	F	+2	282
T38	Alison Walshe	72	68	70	72	+2	F	+2	282
T38	M.J. Hur	70	70	67	75	+5	F	+2	282
T41	Ryann O’Toole	73	69	69	72	+2	F	+3	283
T41	Hee Young Park	68	67	76	72	+2	F	+3	283
T41	Thidapa Suwannapura	70	68	74	71	+1	F	+3	283
T41	Katherine Hull-Kirk	71	71	72	69	-1	F	+3	283
T45	Amy Yang	69	71	71	73	+3	F	+4	284
T45	Laura Davies	68	66	77	73	+3	F	+4	284
T45	Sophie Gustafson	74	66	72	72	+2	F	+4	284
T48	Belen Mozo	70	69	71	75	+5	F	+5	285
T48	Azahara Munoz	71	69	72	73	+3	F	+5	285
T48	Jee Young Lee	68	72	76	69	-1	F	+5	285
T51	Pornanong Phatlum	69	69	72	76	+6	F	+6	286
T51	Felicity Johnson	74	66	72	74	+4	F	+6	286
T51	Candie Kung	71	69	72	74	+4	F	+6	286
T51	Jacqui Concolino	69	70	73	74	+4	F	+6	286
T51	Song-Hee Kim	73	69	72	72	+2	F	+6	286
T56	Mi Hyang Lee	71	70	70	76	+6	F	+7	287
T56	Momoko Ueda	69	72	72	74	+4	F	+7	287
T56	Nicole Castrale	68	72	73	74	+4	F	+7	287
T56	Katie Futcher	70	70	75	72	+2	F	+7	287
T56	Mariajo Uribe	69	73	74	71	+1	F	+7	287
T56	Sydnee Michaels	73	69	76	69	-1	F	+7	287
T62	Samantha Richdale	70	70	75	73	+3	F	+8	288
T62	Sun Young Yoo	70	72	73	73	+3	F	+8	288
T62	Jennifer Rosales	73	68	75	72	+2	F	+8	288
T65	Hee-Won Han	72	70	74	73	+3	F	+9	289
T65	Moriya Jutanugarn	72	70	75	72	+2	F	+9	289
67	Se Ri Pak	72	70	72	76	+6	F	+10	290
T68	Austin Ernst	70	72	72	77	+7	F	+11	291
T68	Becky Morgan	70	72	73	76	+6	F	+11	291
T68	Karen Stupples	70	72	76	73	+3	F	+11	291
71	Laura Diaz	70	71	77	75	+5	F	+13	293
72	Jessica Shepley	71	70	78	76	+6	F	+15	295
T73	Mindy Kim	73	69	77	77	+7	F	+16	296
T73	Tiffany Joh	71	71	79	75	+5	F	+16	296
T75	Karlin Beck	68	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Dori Carter	69	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Numa Gulyanamitta	73	70	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Marcy Hart	71	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Maria Hjorth	72	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Vicky Hurst	71	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Lorie Kane	71	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Jennifer Kirby	67	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Mo Martin	69	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Brooke Pancake	69	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Jane Park	73	70	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Reilley Rankin	72	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Beatriz Recari	70	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T75	Jenny Shin	68	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	143
T89	Danah Bordner	72	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Katie Burnett	73	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Lisa Ferrero	73	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Julieta Granada	75	69	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Brooke Henderson	72	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Maude-Aimee Leblanc	71	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Ilhee Lee	73	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Paige Mackenzie	72	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Kristy McPherson	74	70	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Ji Young Oh	72	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Morgan Pressel	70	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Jane Rah	71	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Dewi Claire Schreefel	71	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T89	Jessica Wallace	75	69	MC	MC	–	–	–	144
T103	Sandra Changkija	76	69	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Lauren Doughtie	72	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Daniela Iacobelli	74	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Seon Hwa Lee	71	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Rebecca Lee-Bentham	76	69	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Giulia Sergas	74	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T103	Karrie Webb	73	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	145
T110	Chie Arimura	74	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	146
T110	Paz Echeverria	70	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	146
T110	Amy Hung	70	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	146
T110	Sue Kim	75	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	146
T110	Wendy Ward	70	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	146
T115	Izzy Beisiegel	70	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T115	Pat Hurst	73	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T115	Cindy LaCrosse	74	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T115	Meena Lee	73	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T115	Brittany Marchand	74	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T115	Sarah Jane Smith	72	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	147
T121	Jennifer Ha	77	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Jeong Jang	72	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Jennie Lee	74	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Paola Moreno	75	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Alena Sharp	76	72	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Stephanie Sherlock	71	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T121	Lindsey Wright	72	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	148
T128	Heather Bowie Young	75	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	149
T128	Silvia Cavalleri	76	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	149
T128	Moira Dunn	76	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	149
T128	Lisa McCloskey	75	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	149
T128	Michelle Wie	73	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	149
T133	Irene Cho	80	70	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T133	Natalie Gulbis	73	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T133	Nicole Jeray	76	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T133	Amelia Lewis	75	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T133	Kris Tamulis	76	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T133	Anne-Catherine Tanguay	72	78	MC	MC	–	–	–	150
T139	Veronica Felibert	74	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	151
T139	Natalie Gleadall	78	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	151
T139	Christina Kim	76	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	151
T142	Amanda Blumenherst	79	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	152
T142	Julia Boland	74	78	MC	MC	–	–	–	152
T142	Hanna Kang	78	74	MC	MC	–	–	–	152
T145	Esther Choe	74	79	MC	MC	–	–	–	153
T145	Augusta James	82	71	MC	MC	–	–	–	153
T145	Sara Maude Juneau	76	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	153
T145	Sarah Kemp	76	77	MC	MC	–	–	–	153
149	Breanna Elliott	75	79	MC	MC	–	–	–	154
T150	Emily Childs	82	73	MC	MC	–	–	–	155
T150	Taylore Karle	80	75	MC	MC	–	–	–	155
T150	Jin Young Pak	79	76	MC	MC	–	–	–	155
153	Nicole Vandermade	85	80	MC	MC	–	–	–	165
154	Nicole Forshner	89	83	MC	MC	–	–	–	172
155	Stacy Lewis	74	WD	WD	WD	–	–	–	74
156	Jennifer Song	76	WD	WD	WD	–	–	–	76