Professional sport is often portrayed as an unsentimental business in which pursuit of the dollar is the top and bottom line. Hats off, then, to Lydia Ko, who has chosen to acknowledge her fans in this country by playing in next year's New Zealand Women's Open, rather than a far more lucrative LPGA event in Thailand run by her management company, IMG. Such a discerning decision might normally be associated with a mature player nearing the end of a career, not a 17-year-old who has just completed an astonishing rookie year on the international circuit and has realistic aspirations to be the world No 1.
Perhaps we should not be surprised. Ko's judgment seems to be as well tuned off the course as on it. Her use of a quirky video featuring All Black Israel Dagg to confirm her decision to turn professional suggested as much. And she has further endeared herself by pinning her allegiance to this country. There has been no repeat of the disappointment occasioned by Cecilia Cho, her amateur rival, switching to her native Korea in 2012.
Indeed, Ko has left no doubt of her attachment to this country. Her ice-cool disposition gave way to tears of joy when she won the New Zealand Open in 2013. "I guess it meant more. It is our national Open, so to win means a lot," she said by way of explanation. Her decision to continue to support the event by returning to Clearwater confirms that her sense of priority is undiminished.
