For Lydia Ko, just playing golf isn’t enough; it has to be great golf, or nothing at all! So it came as no surprise when she said she didn’t want to keep playing past 30. But ever since that remark, retirement rumors have followed her like a shadow, and not everyone has taken it kindly. Some fans have even questioned her commitment to the game. So, in her latest appearance on the No Laying Up podcast, Ko doesn’t hold back, setting the record straight and shutting down the noise.
“I still want to play and compete at the highest level,” Ko said. “I don’t want to leave the game because I don’t enjoy it anymore.” Yet even she admits there are days when she walks off the course wondering, “Why am I still doing this?” With just two years left before her self-imposed retirement age of 30, Ko is determined to give it everything she’s got, even as her game hits a rough patch. The once-effortless connection she had with golf feels distant now. She’s missed the cut at The Amundi Evian Championship 2025 and finished tied for 52nd at The Chevron Championship 2025. Even though retirement may be inching closer, Lydia Ko has no intention of bowing out quietly, not until she finds her rhythm again.
“I still want to get better,” Ko said. “And I’ve got a great team around me that’s really helping me with that process.” Despite having three majors and a Hall of Fame career already secured, Ko isn’t resting on her resume. She’s still chasing the majors she hasn’t won, and those are the U.S. Women’s Open and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the performances she knows she’s capable of. Her focus is forward, not behind. With her sister Sura Ko managing her career and renowned coach Sean Foley guiding her game, Ko has built a support system that keeps her pushing, even when results don’t come easily.
“Whether I actually do the Grand Slam or not, I think that’s a secondary thing,” Ko admitted. “But I think it’s always good to have a goal to go towards because I just don’t want to play for the sake of playing.” Ko has her sights set on something only a handful of women in golf have ever achieved, and that is the career Grand Slam. She’s two majors away, and she’s made it clear this is the one big goal that still drives her. After all she’s been through in recent years, Ko says chasing that final piece of history feels like a dream worth holding onto, a reason to keep pushing, not just as a golfer, but as a player chasing one last perfect ending. It might be the only thing keeping her from walking away, not out of routine, but in pursuit of something truly historic.
Ko turned pro in 2013 at just 16, a year after making history as the youngest LPGA winner at 15. By 17, she was already world No. 1. With a career that took off so fast, it’s no surprise she’s thinking about retirement before turning 30. Additionally, Ko has also mentioned being proud of herself for taking this decision as she believes “When the time comes, it’s going to come,” so definitely the LPGA pro has nothing to prove to others but herself only.
However, she’s been in the spotlight for over a decade, and talk of early burnout has followed her for years. She had also admitted to being obsessed with it, but has since changed her mindset. This shift to seeing more to life beyond golf did not happen in isolation—it was shaped, in part, by someone who helped her see life beyond the leaderboard.
A New Outlook on Golf and Life
Lydia Ko credits her husband for helping her see life beyond fairways and final scores. “He made me realize that there’s more to life than golf,” she shared on the No Laying Up podcast. For someone who had been deeply invested in the sport since childhood, that shift was big. Ko explained how, in the past, a bad game would make her feel like a “crappier human being,” because her self-worth was so closely tied to performance. But her husband reminded her that she’s more than just a golfer, she’s a person first.
That new perspective didn’t dull her competitive edge; it just brought a better balance. “I’ve gotten to enjoy golf more… on a different outlook,” she said. With his support, Ko stopped letting the game define her. Maybe that’s what planted the seed for her recent openness about stepping away from golf after turning 30. But even if she does, one thing’s clear that the fire to play well hasn’t left her.
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