But being so near to the accomplishment is not bothering Ko, even if she’s probably going to be asked about it before every tournament until she gets another victory.
“I don’t think I fall asleep or wake up in a day thinking about the Hall of Fame.
“I think people around me think about it more than I do. To be honest, last year I thought a lot about it, just because you’re so close,” Ko told media today.
“Being in the Hall of Fame was never really a big goal of mine because I didn’t think that I was maybe capable to be part of those players that’s already in the Hall of Fame.
“After such a great year in ‘22 I think it was the first time I was like, ‘oh, maybe I could be a Hall of Famer’. Obviously we all know that last year didn’t go as well as I would’ve liked.
“But, I said before in other interviews, being one point away seems a little easier than two. Sometimes it’s just easier said than done. Some players win for their first time in 10 years. It’s just not that easy.”
Ko tees off at 8.56am tomorrow alongside Korda, who has won her last two events, the last also coming in a playoff, and world number three Celine Boutier.
“Clearly Nelly is showing that it is pretty easy winning two weeks in a row, but when I’m out there I’m just trying to play the best golf I can. Obviously I had a chance to be able to win again at Blue Bay, but Bailey played amazing. I came off the round saying I still played well. I could have been better, but I don’t think I could have played better than how Bailey played.
“Sometimes other players just play better than you. All you can do is do your best. But I’m just going to keep giving myself good opportunities and good chances, and I think instead of setting my goal to just be in the Hall of Fame, like while I’m competitively playing I want to win and compete at the highest level as much as I can.
“Not just kind of set my end goal as the Hall of Fame. I think sometimes that makes you more narrow-minded and makes me feel like, ‘okay, I just need to win one’. But I want to win more than one as long as I’m still playing.”
Ko is in year 12 as a professional golfer but is still finding ways to improve her game and make even more sacrifices. It’s worked so far in 2024, picking up career victory number 28 in the season opener along with two top fives. She leads the lowest scoring average for the season, with another Vare Trophy win being another way she can earn a Hall of Fame point.
She says her mental game is in a good place, with the rare poor round not having as big an effect on her.
“I think I just have a little bit more of a different mindset going into this year. If I’m having to make more sacrifices or maybe an hour less sleep or whatever, it’s just the small things.
“I think I’m more willing to do it, and also willing to take time off if it makes me feel like I’m going to play at a higher level at one of the events I’m trying to peak at.
“I do feel like I’m in a better place mentally. I didn’t play well in Singapore, but my sister and my husband was there. My husband said he felt so happy seeing me, like, not get so frustrated over a bad day. The first day I had a birdie-free round. Nobody wants a birdie-free round. You want bogey-free round, definitely not birdie-free.
“He said I looked like I was in a better place. Obviously getting that kind of feedback from the people that are close to you is great. I think that gives me, I think, more motivation to keep working on the right things with my mental coach and keep doing what I’m doing and do other things to just keep improving.”
