Golf

3 weeks ago

Why Lydia Ko is a remarkable study of sporting greatness in action

By Ian Smith

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It was set to be just another Monday morning following an All Blacks-free weekend, with nothing that special to rave about. Well, that's the way it was shaping until Lady Lydia did it again.

She defied the worst conditions in the best field in women's golf to win the women's British Open at the home of golf, the Old Course at St Andrews.

A fortnight ago following her Olympic gold medal-winning performance, we waxed lyrical about this incredible young lady with all sorts of accolades, superlatives, comparisons, and Halbergs in the conversation.

I will never run out of things to say about Ko, but I started to think at times I overdo it about Lydia - and maybe that's the case, but I'm happy to be guilty as charged.

Golf is a great study in sport because of the pace of play.

It affords us the chance to not just study the skills, but more so the person - their etiquette, their demeanor - Lydia Ko is a remarkable study.

If you watched the coverage live, you were spoilt. You will have seen Lydia play and handle the moment - she putted, smiled, chatted, she signed autographs, she had time for her husband, she had time for everyone.

In an era where we commonly believe to keep score and be competitive as a kid, and to work hard under pressure, is evil and dangerous. Here is a classic case staring us in the face that it is not.

How can a role model this perfect be at all evil?

Tune into Mornings with Ian Smith every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am on SENZ.

Listen to Smithy's interview with LPGA commentator Grant Boone below:

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