Lydia Joins The Likes Of Beth, Annika and Nancy
/She's moving to first name status with a player of the year award after winning Rookie Of The Year in 2014, and while she held off an admittedly nervous Inbee Park who was playing to clinch HOF status (and did), it's still easy to root for Lydia Ko.
Bill Fields captures the scene and the affection for Ko at the CME finale in Naples.
The Player of the Year honor burnishes Ko's stunning career. Already the youngest winner of an LPGA event (2012 CN Canadian Women's Open) and a women's professional major championship (2015 Evian Championship), Ko becomes the youngest to be named POY.
She is only the fourth LPGA golfer to be top player the year after being top rookie, joining Nancy Lopez (1978-79), Beth Daniel (1979-80) and Annika Sorenstam (1994-95.) Lopez stands alone in winning both awards in the same year, 1978. On the PGA Tour, which has given a rookie award since 1990, Tiger Woods (1996-97) is the only person to pull off the back-to-back achievement.
"Awesome," Ko said of the select company she joined. "Beth, Annika, Nancy, they are legendary players. Their legacies are here with us. What they have done for the women's golf and LPGA, what they are still doing, they are an inspiration. To put my name along with those three amazing players, it's a huge honor. In a way, I'm still thinking, 'Hey, am I deserving to be along those names?' "