Golf: Lydia Ko, the boredom of excellence, and the burden of expectation

Lydia Ko. Photo / Getty

Lydia Ko's 2017 season is set to end in a familiar, and fitting, fashion.

Ko sits in a share of 12th at the lucrative season-ending LPGA Tour Championship in Florida, following a second round one-under 71.

It was a round which dropped Ko nine spots on the leaderboard, and probably ended any hopes of picking up her first victory of the season.

Ko displayed piercing accuracy off tee all round, and her iron play was solid, but she required 28 putts. Eventually, she signed for a card featuring three birdies and two bogies, and is now six shots off the pace set by Korea's Sung Hyun Park.

While a win is unlikely, Ko still sits in a quality position for another high-ranking finish; only three shots away from second place.

It would be an apt conclusion for a strong season from Ko; a season which is only missing the satisfaction of holding a title aloft.

Despite that notable omission, Ko's success has been badly underplayed this year. If you strip away expectations and focus on the pure results, Ko is still having one of the greatest seasons in New Zealand golf history.

Sure, it's not at the level at her prior three seasons, but - New Zealand's two men's major titles aside - it would be hard to find a more impressive array of results than Ko's 2017 campaign.

If Ryan Fox or Danny Lee put together a season featuring 11 top ten finishes, four top three placings and $1.1 million in earnings, it would rightly be promoted as a standout campaign. And so we come to the boredom of excellency, coupled with the burden of sky-high expectations. Suddenly, a season with 11 top ten finishes is seen in some circles as inadequate, and interest fades.

Ko will win again, and probably soon, but let's not take her current first-rate consistency for granted, because the nature of women's golf means it's not going to last forever.

*** Fox is also in the hunt for a solid finish at his respective season-ending event. The 30-year-old is in a tie for 11th at the World Tour Championship in Dubai, after - much like Ko - dropping down the leaderboard following a second-round one-under 71.

Fox started slowly with two bogies on the front nine before having a busy back nine, with five birdies mixed with two bogies. He sits at six-under, four shots off the lead held by England's Matthew Fitzpatrick.

A top 15 finish would be worth €100,000 to Fox, while the winner of the event gets €1.17 million. Additionally, Fox - who sits 34th on the "Race to Dubai" end-of-year rankings, could earn a share of a €5 million bonus pool if he can elevate himself into the Race of Dubai top 10.

The news is not as rosy for Danny Lee on the PGA Tour, who missed the cut at the RSM Classic in Georgia. Lee had an uncharacteristically level second round, shooting an even-par 72 with just one birdie and bogey apiece amongst 16 pars. It followed his first round even-par 70 (Confusing I know - the tournament is held on two different courses - one par-70, one par-72), which also was a sedate 16-par affair.

As a result, Lee finished at even-par for his two rounds, missing the cut by three shots. American Austin Cook leads the event at 14-under.