Top Golf Newsmakers of 2022: The Resurgent Lydia Ko

A nine-year LPGA veteran at age 25 (!), the No. 11 newsmaker on our list rose again to No. 1 in the world with a Player-of-the-Year season.

Who She Is: LPGA Tour member, No. 1-ranked player in the world

SI Golf Rank: 7 (Gabby Herzig), 12 (Jeff Ritter), 14 (John Schwarb)

Why She's Here: Lydia Ko is just 25 years old but in 2022 she made a triumphant re-emergence as the best female golfer in the world. Yes, at the young age of 25, she re-emerged.

Ko’s ascent up the ranks of women’s golf broke records in 2022, and she has her career longevity to thank for that. People forget that Ko has been on the LPGA for nine years. She’s a tour veteran in her mid-20s—there aren’t many other players who can say that, on both the LPGA and PGA Tours.

Other Top Newsmakers: No. 12 Justin Thomas | No. 13 Alan Shipnuck | No. 14 Jennifer Kupcho | No. 15 Matt Fitzpatrick | No. 16 Keith Pelley | No. 17 Judge Beth Labson Freeman | No. 18 Max Homa | No. 19 Rose Zhang | No. 20 Henrik Stenson

The last time the New Zealand native was ranked No. 1 in the world was in June 2017. Five and a half years have passed since then. The time in between her world No. 1 rankings is the longest in the history of the LPGA Tour. The best part? Ko never imagined she’d be back.

It was 14 top-10 finishes in 22 LPGA starts this season—including three wins—that helped Ko climb to the top. She came out victorious at the Gainbridge LPGA, the BMW Ladies Championship, and the CME Group Tour Championship, where she won the largest winner’s check in women’s golf history. That prize helped her become the Tour’s leading money winner, earning $4,364,403 for 2022. Ko secured two more coveted titles this year, too: the LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year award and the Vare Trophy for lowest season-long scoring average.

The most exciting part about Ko’s 2022 was that it probably was her best season yet, and that’s saying a lot. If you look back to 2015, Ko reached world No. 1 at just 17 years old—the youngest ever to do so—and she won a major. But these days, talent on the LPGA Tour is stronger than ever and it’s getting harder and harder to win. Ko admitted that herself after her win at the BMW.

There may be a lot of young up-and-coming players in the women’s game right now, but if Ko proved anything this season it’s this: Never underestimate the veterans, even if they’re only 25 years old.

2023 Outlook: History was a running theme in Ko’s 2022. With her play and recognition this year, Ko reached the doorstep of one of the most prestigious honors in all of women’s golf: The LPGA Hall of Fame. Ko is just two points shy of the 27 needed to qualify for an invitation. If she wins a major championship or wins two LPGA tournaments in 2023, she’ll achieve that milestone.

Ko might have a lot to look forward to in 2023 on the golf course, but she has a pretty exciting year ahead of her in her personal life as well. Ko got engaged to her fiance Chung Jun in 2022, and is set to be married just before the new year, on Dec. 30.