Lydia Ko picked up where she left off in 2022 – on top. The World No. 1 fired an 8-under 64 in the opening round of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International to co-lead with Pajaree Anannarukarn.
“It’s cool to see I have an officially under par round as a Mrs.” said Ko, who closed the 2022 season with victory at the CME Group Tour Championship and a host of year-end accolades.
From there she married her sweetheart, Jun Chung, Dec. 30 at the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul.
“I had a few weeks to prepare. for this one, but I played a lot of golf, maybe a bit too much golf, on my honeymoon,” said Ko. “But my husband loves golf and that’s something that we can mutually do together, so we took advantage of that. And actually, thanks to him it made my transition into off-season practice a lot easier.
“Yeah, if somebody said, hey, you’re going to play eight rounds of golf over two weeks on your honeymoon I probably would’ve laughed at that person, but it became reality and I had so much fun.”
She even recorded an ace alongside Chung on her honeymoon.
Ko, who won this event in 2021, recorded eight birdies on Thursday at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in a bogey-free round, noting that she felt really confident with her putter. The Kiwi started the season with a new caddie, hiring veteran David Jones for the season.
“The wind is such a big factor on this golf course,” she said, “so when it’s playing to your advantage you kind of want to use that.”
Lydia Ko wins 2021 Aramco Saudi Ladies International (courtesy Aramco)
The Saudi Ladies International, a Ladies European Tour-sanctioned event, features 15 of the top 30 players in the Rolex Rankings. The $5 million prize fund now matches that of the men’s event in Saudi. It’s the largest purse in women’s golf outside of the majors and the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship ($7 million).
The LET’s Saudi-backed events, which total six in 2023, remain controversial given the wide-ranging human rights abuses Saudi Arabia has been accused of, especially toward women.
Last season’s LPGA Rookie of the Year, Atthaya Thitikul, is one stroke back along with recent LET winner Aditi Ashok and Jung Min Hong. Ashok won the Magical Kenya Ladies Open earlier this month and followed it with a third place last week in Morocco.
Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented By Public Investment Fund, Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, King Abdullah Economic…
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