Lydia Ko’s record as an amateur in professional events

Last updated: February 2013

Lydia Ko began playing in women’s professional events in February 2010 at the age of 12, finishing tied 7th in the New Zealand Women’s Open.

In just her second pro event, the 2011 New South Wales Open, she lost by a single shot to Caroline Hedwall, missing a three foot putt on the final green that would have forced a playoff. She made up for that in the same event in 2012, winning by four shots from Becky Morgan and becoming, at the time, the youngest ever winner of a professional tournament, female or male, on any recognised world tour, aged 14 years, 9 months and 6 days. (She would lose that record less than five months later to Brooke Henderson, who was three days younger when she won in Canada.)

	Lydia Ko with the 2013 New Zealand Women’s Open Trophy

Ko would win again in August 2012, with Henderson in the field, taking the CN Canadian Women’s Open and becoming the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour at 15 years, 4 months and 3 days, beating Lexi Thompson’s 2011 age record by some three months.

In February 2013, Ko won her third pro title at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open, holing a three foot putt to hold off Amelia Lewis, and became the youngest ever winner of a Ladies European Tour event, aged 15 years, 8 months and 17 days. This brought her tally to three wins from 13 pro events entered – and never missing a cut.

(For the record, Ko also won the Muriwai Open, a professional event on the New Zealand Charles Tour, which is not a Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings sanctioned Tour, on the two occasions she participated, in 2011 by 3 shots and in 2012 by 17 shots!)