The Evolution Of Lydia Ko

No matter your ability, it's always fun to read an in-depth look at the evolution of one knowing there are folks out there who can take inspiration. While such detailed and potentially inspirational pieces are few and far between these days, ESPNW has given Bill Fields the opportunity to get into the many details that have made Lydia Ko the world No. 1.

With the former LPGA Championship-turned KPMG Women's PGA kicking off Thursday at Westchester CC (1-4 ET Golf Channel, NBC on the weekend 3-6 pm ET), the race to determine the current No. 1 will hopefully not overshadow a major on an old, quirky, tournament-tested venue. (Randall Mell here with the marquee groups and key storylines.)

Most fun is the image of a wee Ko playing a semi-regular game with older, wiser men who only occasionally offered some advice. And she did it courtesy of an uber-affordable club membership, reminiscent of the way Amy Alcott developed into a Hall of Famer (not coincidentally Fields talks to her about Ko).

Amid the teasing, particularly as she got older, Ko's golf hours were very focused. "One of the critical things was how smart she worked," says Gregg Thorpe, high performance manager for New Zealand Golf, the country's governing body. "Guy and her dad were very good at getting the most out of her time. It was never about hitting ball after ball. It was about challenging her and her decision-making and playing the game, not just ingraining techniques."

With Wilson lobbying for her, Ko got a $100 annual junior membership at Pupuke when she was 7. Although it didn't have an extensive practice ground, the course encouraged diverse shot-making because of its terrain. "It's carved around the side of a hill," says the club's general manager, Laurie Flynn. "You're playing shots with the ball below you or above you, all sorts of uneven lies."

Ko's golf education became diverse. The many weekend rounds with Lister and McDonald, men who had the wisdom that comes only from being around the game for decades, accelerated Ko's ability to play the game rather than be a robotic ball-beater. The old pros used the soft sell, sprinkling suggestions when they would be most effective.

"We might go six or seven holes and not say a word," McDonald says. "Then we'd go, 'What are you doing here?' Or wait until the end of the round and bring it up."

Fields goes on to detail some of the work Ko did with hypnosis. Just like Tiger.