Lydia Ko is not at her A-game this year. A sixth-position finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand was her sole top-ten finish prior to the BMW Ladies Championship last week. But coming in February, that already appeared to be a distant history for the LPGA star. That stands in stark contrast to last year when she secured three LPGA Tour victories.

Coming to the 2023 season, she had two titles to defend – in one she needed a sponsor exemption to participate. Whereas, for the second one, she failed to qualify. Currently, tied at 11th position on the leaderboard at the LPGA Maybank Championship, the Kiwi golfer spoke about how it feels to play at a sponsor’s exemption. 

Ko’s true feelings come out in a recent interview

For the former world no.1 playing on sponsor invite at the LPGA Tour is not an exception rather than a norm. The 19-time LPGA-tour winner has been in phenomenal form for the most part of his career. Reflecting on that, Lydia Ko said, I haven’t played as a sponsor’s invite on our LPGA events that many times. 

Incidentally, despite being a defending champion, she had to participate in the BMW Ladies Championship last week in Seoul on a sponsor exemption. Although she failed to defend her title, the New Zealand pro netted a third position on the leaderboard. Speaking of which, the 26-year-old golfer added, “I played really well last week.” This time in Malaysia on a sponsor exemption, she feels extremely grateful to have this opportunity at the tail-end of the season: “Very grateful to be here.” 

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It’s 89 degrees on the greens, and the sweltering heat has been bothering many pro golfers. Commenting on that, the LPGA pro jokingly added, “Even if my favorite player was playing I wouldn’t come out to watch because it’s pretty hot.” But Malaysian fans have poured their heart out to support their favorite players which makes the Kiwi golfer elated. “I’m excited to hopefully be back here more often,” says an exuberant Ko.

Despite being ranked the no.9 at the Rolex World Ranking, her CME Globe ranking of 101 means, for the first time in the last ten years, she will fail to make it to the CME Tour Championship on LET, a tournament she has won twice, including last year. But, Ko appears hopeful after a much better outing last week at the Seowon Valley Country Club.

Lydia Ko weighs in on her recent form

Ko missed the chance for a playoff in the BMW Ladies Open by only two shots with a 14 under 274. In the post-match press conference, the Kiwi golfer said her game was going in the right direction, but unfortunately, that was not enough for a title defense. 

Read More: Lydia Ko Introspects if Her Current Form Is ‘In the Right Direction’ While the $2.2M LPGA Crown Hangs by a Thread

“I was moving in the right direction, but the results weren’t really a good reflection of that. So at least this week is a confirmation to say, hey, it’s not dead yet.” From the game in Kuala Lumpur, it seems the 26-year-old golfer has picked up her form.

It is not over yet for the New Zealand pro at the LPGA Maybank championship. A strong fourth round can still catapult her to the top of the leaderboard.

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