Lydia Ko will be hoping to break her major drought at the PGA Championship. Photo / Photosport
Lydia Ko will be hoping to break her major drought at the PGA Championship. Photo / Photosport
Lydia Ko brought up her 100th top 10 finish on the LPGA Tour earlier this week, but there's another number she's more interested in – major number three.
Ko hasn't won a major since 2016, with her 30 attempts since then resulting in nine of those plentiful top 10s, twoof which were solo seconds and another two a share of third.
However, many of those efforts were during Ko's comparative struggles, and now she's back near her best, sitting fourth in the world and third on this year's LPGA Tour money list.
Her form line this year is impressively consistent – 10, 1, 23, 12, 25, 18, 3, 12, 5, 4, 4 – but at this stage of her career, only wins change her legacy, and claiming a third major title this week at the PGA Championship would further leap Ko up the list of golfing greats.
She has been installed by the bookmakers as the second favourite for the event, behind Nelly Korda and ahead of Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee and Lexi Thompson, and the Kiwi predicts the "beast" of a Congressional course in Maryland will result in a well-rounded player raising the trophy come Monday.
"I don't think there's a single hole where you are like, 'Okay, this one I can breathe, and this is an easy par or going to be a definite birdie opportunity'.
"I'm excited. The person that wins this week will definitely have played four solid rounds, and I think this course is going to be a true test to somebody who really has their game on in all areas.
"The holes are long, so definitely if you do have an extra bit of distance having shorter clubs would be helpful, but it doesn't play away from somebody that doesn't necessarily hit it as long."
That's good news for Ko, who ranks 87th on Tour in driving distance and a dismal 143rd in strokes gained off the tee, but she more than makes up for it with her short game, ranking first in strokes gained putting and sand saves.
"I don't consider myself the No 1 putter," Ko joked. "Sometimes when I'm having a bad putting day, I'll tell myself 'you're the best putter in the world', but then I laugh because I haven't holed a single putt that day.
"I had to spend time where my ball-striking was not as great, and I think that was a lot of pressure on my short game, and that bit improved. It became a club that I could really rely on. I do a lot more short putt practice just because if I know that if my long putting speed is not great that week, if I'm confident with my short putts, I'm still able to [two-putt].
"I just keep it really simple, people tend to overthink. In my experience, when I overthink, I go down a path that I don't necessarily need to."
This will be Ko's fourth straight week competing, and she's hoping to avoid any fatigue when she tees off tomorrow morning on the prestigious course that has hosted four men's majors.
"I don't play many four weeks in a row, but I feel physically good, and I'm excited for a fun week here, and hopefully I'll get to finish my stretch of events well.
"With a major, there's just that extra little bit of pressure and mental focus that can wear out on you a little bit.
"The golf course here, you're not expecting to see super low numbers, so I think being super patient [is important] and when I am out of position, just taking my medicine is also really important.
