Two-time LPGA Tour Player of the Year Lydia Ko may have had her greatest season in 2024, and that is saying something. Despite the influx of new talent over the last couple of years, Ko has found ways to evolve her game and show phenomenal longevity.
In 2024, Ko won three LPGA Tour events, including her third-career major at the AIG Women’s Open. She also won the Olympic Gold Medal in Paris, her third Olympic Medal. She also gained entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame and was announced as a Dame in her native New Zealand.
How does she follow up all of this success? Probably with another strong season. Ko is a cut-making machine, which continued in 2024 where she made 18/20. Even in her bad seasons she generally makes them at a high rate, like in 2023 when she finished 100 in the CME Standings, but still made 16/20. In 2024 she also finished in the top 10 eight times, which is one of the lower marks of her career, but still impressive.
Ko finished No. 7 in scoring average and unsurprisingly, finished No. 2 in scrambling. She was No. 3 in total strokes gained, and was top 20 on the LPGA Tour in every category except driving, which is historically her weakness. She did see massive improvement driving the ball though in 2024, mostly thanks to her unusual but effective strategy of teeing the ball very low, which worked like a charm in the second half of the year.
Ko may seem a bit low here considering her accomplishments last season, but it is more a testament to the incredible high-end talent on the tour right now, especially from young players. Ko is still elite 12 years into her career, which is a rarity in the modern LPGA.
