Lydia Ko may play well beyond her years, but in case you needed a reminder that the top-ranked woman golfer in the world is still a teenager, check out her right wrist.
Lydia Ko reveals her celebratory tattoo
Lydia Ko commemorated her first professional victory by inking the date of the victory on her right wrist -- all with her parents’ approval, of course.
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Seems the 17-year-old celebrated her first professional win, the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic last spring, by inking the date -- April 27, 2014 -- in Roman numerals on said wrist.
17 year old 8 time @LPGA tour winner @Lko424 has a tattoo on her wrist she got in honor of her 1st victory. Is that even legal? @andyzarka
— Billy Speckman (@BillySpeckman) February 22, 2015 “My parents were there and I felt like it was a very memorable win so I got that tatted up,” Ko said on Sunday after becoming the youngest winner of the Women’s Australian Open.
As Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols noted, Ko had previously asked reporters not to point out her body ink, but then she’d have to keep her right hand pocketed during play and in the interview room. For sure, though, as Nichols observed, “That’s likely the first time the slang ‘tatted up’ has appeared in an LPGA winner’s transcript.”
Ko, by the way, will tee it up this week in a New Zealand Open field that includes a 12-year-old who qualified for the event using Ko’s old clubs. According to Golf Digest, Bohyun Park, who shot a 2-under 70 to make it into the event, employed sticks that Ko’s old coach, Guy Wilson, built for his former student.
There are other eerie parallels as well. For instance, Wilson (Ko’s instructor until they split in 2013) is now Park’s mentor, Ko was also 12 when she entered her first Kiwi Open, and the preteen plays out of Ko’s home course -- Gulf Harbour CC in Auckland.
Ko, who won the New Zealand Open as an amateur in 2013, is seeking her first win in the event as a pro. If she wins, there’s no word yet if she’ll celebrate with a new tattoo.
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