Lydia Ko continues to be one of the best stories in sport. The seventeen year old already has two worldwide wins and two second place finishes this season and seems to break another record each times she wins. 
The youngest ever number one golfer continues to amaze us each time she shows up. But it just isn’t on the course where she impresses us. It’s off the course also.
Each of Ko’s performances is marked with patience and maturity, two traits rarely found in a teenager. She displays such a cavalier attitude when discussing her professional accomplishments we need to remind ourselves that she is barely out of junior golf.
Ko has even stated that she’ll retire by 30 to pursue another life away from golf. It isn’t just her interviews that reveal her grace and kindness.
After her first win as a professional on the LPGA Tour she left gifts in each of the player’s locker, thanking them for accepting her on the tour.
And after her recent Australian Open victory she took steps to make sure the “little people” were thanked also.
It’s easy for a winner to thank all the people on their team when they win. And words are cheap when it comes to all those who helped put the tournament together. But Ko went a little bit further than that.
Mark Hayes from Golf Australia relates how Ko took care of the staff at the Australian Open.
Ko and the Gang at Royal Melbourne
She was a hit in a visit to the volunteers, signing and posing for more happy snaps.
But then came the moment that sealed her reputation in the eyes of those even further behind the scenes of our national championship.
Ko wandered up the clubhouse stairs to make her last brief scheduled stop at the champion’s cocktail party, then quietly slipped an envelope containing $500 into the hands of assistant GM Andrea Watson to kickstart the staff’s “after-party”.
It was the New Zealander’s way of saying thanks to all those who almost anonymously helped make her triumph so memorable on one of her favourite courses.
But Rak said it was the ultimate in class acts.
“I’ve worked in the golf industry for 40 years and I’ve never heard of anything like that – especially from a 17-year-old,” he said.
“She’s a class act – I can’t say enough about her. She was very approachable to all our members and talked to them. She’s just a great ambassador for the game and has a great appreciation of what makes clubs and tournaments work.
It seems that Ko gets it, gets the big picture both on and off the course.
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