SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD Lydia Ko has netted the largest payday in women’s golf history, winning both the US$1 million Race to the CME Globe and the US$500,000 CME Group Tour Championship.
The Kiwi golfer was the youngest player in the field and only needed regulation to win the inaugural Race to the CME Globe, locking up the cash with a four-day total of 10-under-par.
However, the 2014 Rolex Rookie of the Year, needed four additional trips down the 18th hole with Julieta Granada and Carlota Ciganda in a three-way playoff, making par four straight times to win the tournament.
The US $1.5 million Ko won is the largest payout in women’s golf history.
“When I saw that $1 million in the box, I was like, ‘Wow, I wonder who the winner of that will be?’ It’s amazing. I’ve never seen that much cash in one place before. This year has been awesome. Three wins, Rookie of the Year, it’s a huge honor for me to be here in this position,” Ko said. “I’m looking forward to what’s coming up next year.”
All those previously fretting about Ko not turning pro sooner and missing out on some pretty hefty cash wins in her early performances can now rest easily.
Currently ranked No. 3 in the Rolex World Rankings, Ko won three times in her rookie season and finished in the top-10 12 additional times. She’s never missed a cut in 42 LPGA starts and was one of only three players on Tour in 2014 to record three wins. She now has five career victories, two of which came as an amateur. Ko’s essentially rewrote all the age related LPGA records, becoming the youngest winner in Tour history, youngest Rolex Rookie of the Year ever and now the youngest to US$2 million in career earnings.
LPGA Leaderboard