“I want to play the best golf I can.” This statement from the World No.2 at the beginning of the 2025 season is turning into reality! Lydia Ko, who earlier shared about her retirement plans, is now on the move to increase competition for her fellow golfers. The Kiwi golfer, 2024, apart from her Olympic medal, secured three victories. But that wasn’t enough for her, as she eyes a new goal in 2025.
Ko, retiring before turning 30, aims to be at the peak of her career. With the same aim, the 27-year-old has started the 2025 season. After three appearances and just a few weeks to the first LPGA majors, she has already bagged a victory. After her sixth-place finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and T48 finish at Founders Cup pres. by the U.S. Virgin Islands. She has found her victory path at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. She recorded rounds of 71-67-68-69.
Even with her performance, the path toward her goal of a career grand slam seems to become clearer. Discussing that, recently Beth Ann Nicols, writer for GolfWeek magazine joined the panel on the Golf Channel. She was asked, “Speaking of Lydia, why do you think that she is reached a point now where she’s playing some of the very best golf of her career?”
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – FEBRUARY 27: Lydia Ko of New Zealand tees off on the second hole during Day One of the HSBC Women’s World Championship 2025 at Sentosa Golf Club on February 27, 2025 in Singapore. (Credits: Getty Images)
Her thoughts were generous. “Goodness, you know I think she’s in a wonderful place in her life personally, of course, with a beautiful marriage. I think that she is right now feeling a sense of freedom out there; it feels like bonus golf that we’re getting from Lydia Ko right now.” Ko, who married Jun Chung, has shared how the bond has become a “good luck charm” for her. The result of this can be seen in her performance. Since 2022, the golfer has won 8 titles, including an Olympic gold, in 2024.
Further continuing, Nichols shared about her new goal – “She found this new goal and becoming a career Grand Slam champion, and I just like, she’s just living life right now.” Ko would have won the Grand Slam and Super Grand Slam, but her runner-up finish at the Women’s PGA Championship and third-place finish at the US Women’s Open led her to wait. However, now, with the 2025 season, she needs one victory to reach her career Grand Slam.
With her dominant form, she will be aiming to achieve her childhood dream, which pushed her to pursue an exceptional career in golf.
Lydia Ko’s childhood dream
Ko, who has already won three majors, is just one major away from achieving her Grand Slam, but her commitment to retiring by 30 could be concerning. So, to make her childhood dream come true, she has shared her 2025 goal and what she would like to achieve. At the beginning of the season, she was featured in the LPGA Tour video on YouTube, where she was asked about her goal.
She said, “I think a career Grand Slam was probably my biggest goal. I think when I first said it as a teenager, I probably didn’t realize how difficult that was.” However, despite the toughness, the golfer has come close to achieving it. But she particularly aims at the US Women’s Open as a “smaller pool of people that have won that.” To date, seven women have achieved the Career Grand Slam. Though this sounds cool enough, there’s an ultra title. Karrie Webb, from Australia, is the only golfer to have achieved the Super Career Grand Slam, taking home all five titles recognized as the Majors by the LPGA at the time.
Now, Lydia Ko is aiming to clinch victory at the U.S. Women’s Open and achieve her career Grand Slam. What are your thoughts on it? Will she be able to achieve it in 2025? Let us know your predictions for it in the comments below.
The post With Retirement Confirmed, Lydia Ko Becomes Even Bigger Threat for LPGA Pros as Her ‘New Goal’ Gets Disclosed appeared first on EssentiallySports.
