Lydia Ko within reach of golfing greats after staggering career earnings soar
Hall of Fame status, the full set of Olympic medals, 125 weeks as World No 1, and a heck of a lot more.
So, what else does Lydia Ko have to achieve before confirming her much talked about retirement?
Fresh from winning the British Open, her third major and 21st career win on the LPGA Tour, not a lot.
However, if the 27-year-old needs a reason other than simply enjoying golf to push on closer to 30, the list of LPGA Tour earnings might do the trick.
Having pocketed US$19,212,009 (NZ$30,924,802) since going pro in 2013, only three players have earned more than the Kiwi golfer.
Ko’s US$1.4 million pay day at St Andrews this week boosted her past South Korean Inbee Park on the money list, and within a million dollars of third placed Cristie Kerr.
Swedish great Annika Sorenstam ($22,583,693) and Australian Karrie Webb ($20,293,617) are the top two on the list.
Ko has played fewer (241) tournaments than Sorenstam (307), Webb (497) and Kerr (599), who played at a time when prize money was significantly less on the LPGA Tour than it is now.
Given that, and Ko’s sparkling return to form, the less than $3.5 million gap to the top is within reach for Ko, who this year alone has made $2.2 million from 14 tournaments - she missed the cut in two others.
Rewind two years, when Ko capped a magnificent 2022 by winning the season-ending CME Globe Tour Championship, and she made $4.3 million.
