Most golfers would wear playing 89 out of 90 possible holes as a badge of honor. For Lydia Ko, it’s a reminder of what she couldn’t deliver. Weeks after the International Crown concluded, the World No. 4 still carries the weight of a tournament where her teammates excelled, but she feels she fell short.

The Kiwi star spoke candidly at the Maybank Championship press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Her words revealed the lingering disappointment from the October team event in South Korea. Despite Team World’s third-place finish at New Korea Country Club, Ko remains haunted by what might have been.

“Obviously gutted that we weren’t able to play for first and second place in the last round,” Ko admitted. “But regardless, our team played great. I was really proud of the girls. They stood up and just played a lot of — hit a lot of clutch shots, made a lot of clutch putts when it really mattered. It had been a while since I was in that team environment, so it was great to be in that team room with all the girls and our caddies. I wish I could have stepped up a little bit to be honest with my game,” she confessed.

The statement cuts deeper than typical post-tournament analysis. Ko led Team World alongside Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson, and Wei-Ling Hsu in the $2 million event. The inaugural squad represented four different regions. They competed in Pool B, facing strong opponents throughout. No round came easily for the composite team. They earned 4 points with a 3-1-2 record to advance to the semifinals. Then Australia ended their championship dreams.

Team World lost 2-1 in the morning semifinal. Ko and Hsu fell 1-down in their alternate-shot match against Minjee Lee and Grace Kim. Ko confessed after the tournament that she felt she “let the team down and let Wei-Ling down,” revealing the emotional weight of captaincy beyond mere statistics.

The self-criticism seems harsh given the actual performance. Ko averaged 69.8 strokes across her four matches at the International Crown. She hit 78% of fairways and 77% of greens in regulation. Those numbers show solid, consistent golf.

Ko holds herself to exceptional standards throughout her career. At 27, she became the youngest player ever to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame under the current point system. She owns 23 LPGA victories, three major championships, and the only complete Olympic medal collection in golf history. The drive for perfection fuels her success. It also creates emotional burdens when results fall short. Team golf amplifies this trait significantly.

Individual failures become team consequences in this format. Ko served as Team World’s captain and emotional leader. Every missed opportunity affected four players instead of one. The responsibility weighed heavily throughout the week.

International Crown’s growth and Team World’s impact

Team World exceeded expectations despite the semifinal disappointment. They rebounded to defeat Japan 2-1 in the third-place match. Ko beat Rio Takeda 3-and-2 in singles while Hull dominated Ayaka Furue 4-and-3. The bronze medal represented a successful debut for the composite international squad.

The addition of Team World marked significant progress for the International Crown. Players like Ko and Hull finally got their chance to compete after years of watching from the sidelines. Ko had never participated in the event’s previous four editions because New Zealand lacked four world-ranked players. The World Team concept solved that problem for elite players from underrepresented nations.

Pool B’s competitive strength demonstrated the format’s success. The group featured World Team, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden. Each match carried genuine stakes. The quality of competition validated the tournament’s expanded structure.

The International Crown brings rare team competition to women’s professional golf. Players treasure these opportunities. Ko’s emotional investment as captain showed why these events resonate so deeply. The experience meant everything despite the disappointing semifinal result.

That’s the captain’s burden, Ko now understands. For Ko, 89 holes at the International Crown will forever represent the one that got away.