Lydia Ko chases historic 1st major title at ANA Inspiration

Lydia Ko, who seems to rewrite history each time she posts a score, shocks and awes everyone in the game — from her weekly LPGA Tour opponents to Hall of Fame superstars.

“She still amazes me,” Annika Sorenstam said during a recent teleconference promoting this week’s ANA Inspiration.

Former prodigy Michelle Wie, echoing the 10-time major winner, was similarly dazzled by the current 17-year-old phenom who’s on the brink of potentially historic play at the season’s first major championship.

“That’s pretty damn good, pretty impressive,” Wie said from Rancho Mirage on Tuesday. “It’s pretty amazing what she’s done … She’s just so impressive the way she plays, the way she handles herself … I’m very impressed by her.”

And why wouldn’t she be? Ko has done nothing but shatter age-related marks since she exploded onto the golf scene with her 2012 Canadian Women’s Open victory.

With that win, her first of six on tour, she made Lexi Thompson a footnote in the annals of golf by becoming the youngest player to win a tour event. She has not missed a cut in 48 tour events, has 10 consecutive top-10 finishes on tour that include two wins and -- thanks to such stellar play -- bounces into the former Kraft Nabisco (and Dinah Shore) tourney as the youngest player of either gender to be ranked No. 1 in the world.

But, wait. There’s more.

After she sinks her final putt in Thursday’s opening round, Ko, who has 28 straight under-par scores, may have matched the record of 29 set by Sorenstam in 2004. In her last seven worldwide starts, Ko is an eye-popping 94-under par.

“That’s very good. I wish I had that,” Thompson, defending ANA Inspiration champ, said with a laugh on Tuesday.

“It’s just incredible. Her game is very consistent. There is not a weakness in her game,” Thompson added. “She’s very straight off the tee, and has a great short game. You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

Except, perhaps 30 consecutive rounds under par? There’s likely no one who would bet against Ko setting that mark on Friday — and that’s just one of the possible dates with destiny facing the youngster with ice water running through her body.

A jump into Poppie’s Pond on Sunday night would mean Ko had become the youngest major champion in LPGA history -- a distinction she would earn with a victory in any of the five grand slam events this season. Indeed, only 17-year-old Tom Morris, who won the 1868 British Open, would be a younger major titleholder, by four days, than Ko.

With the burden of all that history riding on her teenage shoulders, it’s small wonder the world’s best golfer is bowing under the weight of it all.

Um, not so much.

“On the course, I’m just trying to have fun with the other girls,” Ko said after a practice round on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course on Tuesday.

If by fun, Ko means playing the world’s most scenic hole in a photo shoot for her sponsor, Callaway Golf, then, yup, it’s good to be No. 1.

And, lest anyone forget, she’s still just 17 — though she will turn 18 next month.

“Sometimes in professional sport you can forget to have fun,” Mike Whan said Tuesday after inking a deal to remain tour commissioner for another six years.

Ko’s just “trying to have fun out there,” said Whan, who has learned a great deal from his tour’s hottest star. “When I’m really miserable on a golf course, I try to channel my inner Lydia and smile my way through my triple-bogeys.

“It’s fun to see her be 17 going on 18. It’s incredible what she’s doing,” he said. “It’s even more incredible that she’s doing it and still being young and [having] fun.”