Relaxed teen golfer Lydia Ko unfazed in march towards history
The youngest world No 1 has taken the LPGA Tour by storm this year and has a chance of winning her first major at the ANA Inspiration
The pressure from playing in the first major of the year is clearly getting to Lydia Ko.
The 17-year-old sensation already is the youngest golfer, male or female, to be ranked No 1. She has finished in the top 10 in her last 10 starts on the LPGA Tour, including two victories. She has broken par in 28 consecutive rounds, one short of the record set by Annika Sorenstam in 2004.
As she made her way around Mission Hills for her first practice round at the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, swing coach David Leadbetter heard a peculiar sound from his teenage pupil.
Every other player I've known or have observed has this intensity. [Lydia is] intense, but she also has a humble side
She was humming a children's song.
"The wheels on the train go 'round and 'round," Leadbetter said, laughing at the latest example that Ko is not bothered by much in life and in golf.
The song she chose was not lost on him, either.
The train keeps chugging along, all the parts moving in beautiful rhythm, no evidence that it's about to jump the tracks. More than an efficient swing is a clear mind that makes Leadbetter forget she is still 17.
Ko has such an even temperament that when Leadbetter saw her on Monday morning for a practice round, the first thing Ko told him was how great it was that Cristie Kerr won the Kia Classic the day before. In the final event before the first major of the year, Kerr and Ko were tied for the lead midway through the back nine when Ko stopped making birdie putts. She didn't mention that part.