Lydia Ko becomes youngest LPGA Rookie of the Year

Lydia Ko, already the youngest winner of an LPGA event, now owns bragging rights as the most youthful golfer ever to earn the tour’s Rookie of the Year honors.

Ko wrapped up the award with two events to go on the LPGA’s 2014 schedule. The 17-year-old from New Zealand did so by compiling two Ws, a pair of runner-up finishes, and nine additional top-10 results in her first year on tour.

“It’s really been a dream rookie season for me,” Ko, ranked third in the world, said in a statement. “I learned so much and am glad to have achieved some of my goals along the way. It’s an honor to have my name now etched alongside such amazing players and legends of the game on the list of Rookie of the Year winners.”

Ko was the run-away winner, with Mirim Lee the closest competitor, thanks to her two recent victories. Ko’s consistency has been outstanding, as she has not missed a cut in 40 consecutive tour events.

In the field for this week’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Ko ranks third in the running for the inaugural season-ending Race to the CME Globe and its $1 million bonus for the winner. She is also fourth on the money list and Player of they Year standings and fifth in scoring average.

Even before successfully petitioning the tour for membership and joining the LPGA in 2014, Ko was a regular among LPGA leaders. She notched two victories before her first season as a tour member, including the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open, which knocked Lexi Thompson out of the record books as the youngest player to win an LPGA tournament. She also displaced Laura Baugh as the youngest to cadge rookie honors; Baugh won her title at 18 and held the “youngest” label for 41 years.

As for newbie nerves, Ko showed none as she finished among the top 10 in her first two contests and won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in her ninth start on tour.

The LPGA finishes the season next week with the CME Group Tour Championship, the same tournament at which Ko made her professional debut in 2013.