Golf: Kiwi tiger burning bright on the greens

Cartoon / Rod Emmerson

New Zealand has a golfing tigress on its hands.

Lydia Ko, age 13, is already among the most fascinating characters in New Zealand sport.

She might become the No 1 woman golfer on the planet at a time when Asian, and particularly Korean-heritage women are dominating.

This story has been simmering along for some time, as the bespectacled kid from North Shore leaped out of the playground and charged past adult opponents.

She has blitzed an open field at Wairakei by 11 strokes, was the top amateur at the New Zealand Open in finishing seventh, set course records in demolishing the field in a 54-holer at the Grange, and shot eight consecutive sub-par rounds at the interprovincials. She is ranked at 296 in the world, and climbing very fast.

Australian observers quickly got the picture, as Ko almost won the New South Wales Open last week.

This story initially teed off in New Zealand when Lydia's parents presented the 5-year-old to then Pupuke professional Guy Wilson, the man who has become her mentor and friend.

"What on earth am I taking on?" thought Wilson at the time, agreeing to give a tot who could not speak English three lessons a week.

The family had just arrived from South Korea, and wanted to push the golf opportunities for wee Bo Gyung, as she was called, who had been a one-club wonder on the driving range with her aunty.

Wilson, now at the Institute of Golf in Albany, soon discovered he not only had a prodigy, but one with an amazing work ethic, and parents to match.

He engaged in a two-year fight for Lydia's right to a club membership at a young age, and even advised the family in the mysterious business of renaming her, as is the custom of Korean arrivals.

Her parents struck on the christian name Bona. Wilson suggested they think again, and Lydia Ko was born.

The bonds between coach and pupil grew stronger, as Lydia practised up to 35 hours a week, but Wilson is never alone.

Lydia's mother, Tina Hyon, is alongside Lydia for almost every minute of those practice hours, her own golf knowledge so developed by observation that she can help kids at the North Shore club.

Lydia's father, Gil Hong Ko, proved to be a stern taskmaster. He agreed to step back a bit but when Tina isn't there, Gil Hong - who works in banking - is at Lydia's side.

I asked Wilson yesterday how Lydia would handle the rising attention.

"Easily" was his answer. Wilson said she was unaffected by the media spotlight in Sydney, gleefully signed autographs, then stole the show with her speech at the final ceremony.

"I didn't even know but she had written something out," said Wilson, her caddy.

"She seems to enjoy the attention ... she sees it as part of the whole deal. She's always laughing and joking."

Typical of other immigrants, she is a young New Zealander who lives a home life rich in her parents' native customs. She is also a kid who operates and wins in an adults' world, as beaten and bemused playing partners find out.

Her good friend, the former North Shore golfer Sharon Ahn, who is based in South Korea, is a clever artist. She adorns Ko's golf balls with cartoon characters as identification marks.

Ko came second in the NSW Open by whacking SpongeBob SquarePants around. She has won big titles by driving Mickey Mouse and chipping Daffy Duck.

The girl with Korean roots and a Kiwi heart will soon enter a women's world, and have no fear because Lydia stands her ground.

After finishing second in Sydney, she joked about sorting her caddy out.

"We argued but we got there in the end," she concluded.

The wise guess is she will attempt to turn professional in about two years by seeking an age dispensation if necessary, initially playing on the rich Korean tour and then in America.

Wilson himself became a teaching pro at 18, knowing he did not have the psyche for the endless hours of repetitive practice that players must endure.

Lydia loves the workload, though, and is helping Wilson live every coach's dream.

"I have to pinch myself sometimes and wonder where this is going to take us to," he says.

He quickly moves past wondering, though.

"I think she will be the world No 1," he says.

"She wants to win majors and she will. There's no reason why her first cheque can't be worth a million dollars."

Normally I'd argue against such overblown optimism, as when Rotorua's Danny Lee, as the world's No 1 amateur, was portrayed as the next Tiger Woods.

There will never be another Tiger.

There is already the first Lydia Ko.