MEET LYDIA KO | The Scoop

Intro I would say you know the gold medalist it's uh it's pretty crazy when the whole world is watching and you're literally the best of the best at at the biggest sporting event in every four [Music] years all right what do you show Welcome to the school thank you for joining me what' we go with I got a pistachio raspberry um normally actually like to get pistachio ice cream so I've never had it with raspberry so this is definitely a new flavor to try this is like one of the most famous spots in New York for their ice cream it's really good it's like a top spot don't tell me because I'll probably go again um so I just want to get to know you a little bit can you tell me it is okay good I have to try mine can you tell me how you became a golfer um I started uh because of my aunt actually and Siri pack had won then 1998 us one was open I think because that a lot of um Korean people got more interested in golf and a lot of Juniors started taking it up and my parents said it was either between golfer ballet and um my aunt who was a professor and loved to play golf in her free time took me uh to the golf course and apparently I can't remember the exact moment but finally I hit a shot with her club and she cut a couple of her own club for me and uh I was off and um I don't have the greatest flexibility so it's a good thing I didn't go into ballet so did you do ballet at all or no no ballet okay good thank goodness um do you remember the The moment you realized you were good at golf moment where you realized you were like really good at golf um I don't know like even to this point like I don't know man you know I am the best uh female golfer it's a it's kind of a weird um I mean maybe you might say that to yourself for like a confidence booster but I feel like that's just not me um and how I think about things um but I am you know grateful and excited that I can do something that I love and that I that is also work and to be able to compete at the highest level and I think that's when you know you've kind of made it and to especially represent New Zealand at the Olympics um it's definitely uh kind of checked a lot of the boxes totally so you like growing up were very competitive you won an lpj event and a major super young what was School and psychology your like normal as a kid like were you going to school normally were you yeah can you tell me a little bit about I went to school like back in New Zealand um from elementary to high school um just like any kid uh but I think I loved time at school that I kind of didn't like when 3:30 came along and and I actually had to go practice I I liked spending time with my friends and um you know I I went to it like school just like any other kid I think when I did have breaks sometimes I would come out and go hit balls you know in between but mainly my practices were over the weekend and uh after after school okay so I'm interested in your interest in Psychology because I studied psychology in school and absolutely loved it and I know you've kind of said you know know maybe later on in your adulthood that's something you'd want to explore but where did that interest come from and then kind of do you see yourself going back into that area yeah you know I've actually always loved like um Criminal Minds or The Mentalist you know things like shows that's involved with like why people do certain things um you know may is it a mental thing or an environment thing and uh I've just always been very intrigued about it and especially in like social psychology no luckily with the thing I do like in golf uh the mental side is huge uh but I think it more than just because I am a golfer and you know it would help me it was more because I was just fascinated about why I do certain things why other people do certain things and um you know maybe it is something that I keep pursuing and you know maybe study counseling and maybe going to sports psychology but it was just I think I love those kind of shows and I wanted to kind of get answers not just like oh I get it you know just because of the TV show right Mental tips do you have like a mental tip that works for you that you think another golfer might be able to benefit from um I still actually work with a mental coach to this day I've worked with her for a couple years and I've worked with other people before um you know sometimes it's we talk about golf sometimes I talk about things off the golf course um or different relationships or you know some of my struggles may be off the course and I think the biggest thing for me that has actually been beneficial is that it's just nice to have somebody that you can talk to and she kind of puts it as if like she's a rubbish man and like I'm taking out the trash that I shouldn't really hold on to and I like give it to her and then I get good advice back so it's actually a good way of putting that and um that's why I think my advice would be is to have somebody um whether it is like a therapist or some or family friend that you can talk to about anything and they're probably going to give they're going to give you advice that aren't like emotion related yeah that's really good I've never thought of it like that that's really interesting so you Favorite Olympics memory mentioned the Olympics you've been before it's coming up again do you have a favorite like what is it like to compete to go over there not even just on the golf course but to be an athlete in the Olympics and you have a favorite memory from that yeah I went I actually didn't stay in the village um the past couple times I've played in the Olympics but I I went and when you look at the gym area this is It's kind of mindblowing cuz you think oh that person's an athlete that person's got to look like this but you see cuz it's literally all sports you see you know different genders different height you know size and it's it's pretty amazing that the word athleticism where athlete is not just like a stereotypical like Barbie doll um it's you know it's just it can be any uh anyone and to be there and see some of the strongest people that are like gimness um that are even shorter than me to you know these tall basketball players that are like 67 68 so it's just I think that is kind of The Surreal thing and to know that I'm part of this club of being an Olympian it's uh it's honestly something that I never imagined myself to be and now that I am one um it's uh I'm very proud of that Most nervous moment what was that a hard decision to make because I know a lot of like the men kind of went back and forth or were you immediately kind of all in and competing in the Olympics uh I think so it's just um it's always been a dream of mine I think they announced it in like 2010 and I was like you know I'm going to be there at Rio and um I was so nervous on the first toll I barely hit it on the club base uh but it's just that you don't realize how much it means to you until that moment really comes and to have been able to finish uh and get silver and send on the podium it's it gives you Goosebumps and um I've never experienced like listening to my national anthem on the podium but I would say you know the gold medalist it's uh it's pretty crazy when the whole world is watching and you're literally the best of the best at at the biggest sporting event in every four years is that the most nervous you've been on the course or what what would be the most nervous you've ever been that one and for the other time was just my first us when was open I was so nervous I couldn't even line up my putt um so that those are probably the standouts and how um I guess most nervous I was but I I get nervous you know I'm pretty sure I'm going to be nervous on Thursday this week but nerves are good for me I think I think when I was younger I wanted to not get nervous cuz it's a feeling that you're not really used to and you can't control but um now I know that it means a lot to me and CU I want to play the best I can that's why I'm getting nervous so I'm trying to take the good of of this kind of the feeling that you can't control yeah the discomfort you just kind of have to so I want to back First win up to your first ever win or LPGA win 15 years old how does a 15-year-old celebrate that what did you do I probably had ice cream I probably had ice cream too young to drink in Canada um probably had Korean food um I don't know like I do say that I wish I understood um how meaningful that moment was I think now if I win um like it hits me more because I think I just know now how difficult it is and just know that I'm literally playing alongside the best of the best but I think at that age of course I know like I'm playing alongside the best female golfers but I just I don't think you can grasp it as well is I think when you have spent a little bit more time on tour and um I wish I could relive it again and maybe celebrate more um but yeah it was probably um nothing too exciting and probably ice cream involved yes so I just have a couple more for you one is everyone you know when you're in contention everyone's talking about getting to the Hall of Hall of Fame Fame what would that mean to you to be among those incredible names who are already in it um you know it was actually never a big goal of mine to be in the Hall of Fame cuz I thought that was so Out Of Reach and I had a great year in 2022 and that inched me closer to the Hall of Fame and a goal that necessarily I thought was not realistic um became like a possibility and I think last year I struggled and you know it was to in in some ways I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to win again and after a year like last year I actually realized that it it is actually my goal to try and get into the Hall of Fame but not in my goal there um as long as I'm competitively playing I want to win as much as I can and compete at the highest level and I want to retire Still Loving the game and still playing well not because I feel I can't compete anymore so um golf has given me so much so I really want to leave it at the same time on such a good note and you know that might be like more selfish and hard to do but I think it's just it's a goal of mine and I don't want my goal to just stop at the hall of fame yeah that makes sense I was I saw your um podcast with Drew and Colt and it was kind of interesting you had mentioned that as well I like that perspective and then finally this is something I ask everyone Highs Lows who comes on this a high of your career like a specific moment moment a low and something that you've learned o a [Music] high too many like it's like hard to a lot I think um I would say one of my like I guess most recent highs would be um winning the CM TOUR Championship in 2022 it was the last win as a single woman um and my fiance now husband was there and uh he hasn't come out to like that many events and um that has been the only one where he's been and I have won so it was really cool to celebrate that with him there and my sister and my mom and you know my brother-in-law and my dad like uh celebrating in Korea so I would say that's probably one of like the biggest one because know in a month it was going to be one of the biggest days of my life and all of the people I loved I was there with me so it's probably a high the a low is um I think the US Women's Open in C ofal in maybe 2016 I was leading I think a with nine or eight 10 holes to go and I think I made like a triple or something on the ninth hole of the last day and I think because of that I think I was so flustered I kind of lost it in the last nine holes where actually I only finished Two Shots behind the playoff so if I'd actually gotten it together and been like hey you know what I made that mistake I still got nine holes I think I could have like played myself into the playoffs so I wish I had like a better mindset then um and to have the opportunity to Wi the US when is open doesn't come very often so I would say that one is kind of a low and the thing I've learned is that it's honestly so hard I think in some ways like you know that Nelly winning five times I'm sure other people are going to think wow like it must be so easy but I'm sure for her as much as I'm sure some points may have uh like parts of those times may have felt easy like winning once nor five times it was like not easy so I think thing I've learned is that this whole journey is definitely not easy and you can't take things for granted and you just never know what's going to happen um so but if there's always a low point the good thing is you there's always space to get up so I feel like I'm still learning to understand that better now but uh that is probably my biggest thing as when I was younger I don't think you really grasp it because a bad day just seems like a Bad Day right yeah awesome thank you so much for joining me and I really appreciate you answering these questions thank you thank for having me yeah thanks for watching the scoop I hope you all enjoyed it make sure to hit that subscribe button cuz we have a lot of fun guests coming your way