Once again, amateur wins Pro ladies event. Same amateur!

[joekelly]

Yep, Lydia Ko kicked some butt in Canada and won by 4 strokes over folks twice her age (she's 16 yrs).  She has a great smooth swing but is not timid, as i think i see some girls to be. Check her out on UTube and envy her 250 yds.

[brocks]

Sorry if this is an old question, but I don't follow the LPGA much. I saw Ko interviewed on Golf Central today, and her cap was full of sponsor's patches and logos. How is that compatible with amateur status?

[Jmdmbike]

Sorry if this is an old question, but I don't follow the LPGA much. I saw Ko interviewed on Golf Central today, and her cap was full of sponsor's patches and logos. How is that compatible with amateur status?

Don't know about the sponsors, i.e. if she is paid by them, but as an amateur she couldn't accept the $300k fist place prize, which went to the runner up, Karine Icher.

[GaijinGolfer]

I believe that she can receive equipment but cant accept money.  Either way, kudos to her and even more kudos to her for doing what she feels is best for her and not going pro even though a lot of people are saying she should.

[bkuehn1952]

Originally Posted by brocks

Sorry if this is an old question, but I don't follow the LPGA much. I saw Ko interviewed on Golf Central today, and her cap was full of sponsor's patches and logos. How is that compatible with amateur status?

An amateur is allowed to accept free equipment, including clothing, as long as he/she is not paid for displaying the manufacturer's name and the manufacturer does not use the amateur in its advertising.  I did not see the hat but my guess is that it was a logo hat with the manufacturer's name (Srixon?) and she was given the hat, balls, etc... for free.  Some of the patches or attachments might be souvenirs from previous events.

One has to figure that she is under the magnifying glass as far as amateur status because of her notoriety.  Up to this point I haven't heard of any complaints about her accepting too much assistance considering her amateur status.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by brocks

Sorry if this is an old question, but I don't follow the LPGA much. I saw Ko interviewed on Golf Central today, and her cap was full of sponsor's patches and logos. How is that compatible with amateur status?

Good to see you back.

Amateur status - when you are an elite player is a joke.  I don't know how anyone can monitor these kids and know if they are being paid or not... There was another amateur not long ago that had patches for various ties back to her home country... Like resort, etc, etc.  First, why would she wear those patches for a random hotel or resort in Asia?

I'll give you an answer... I'm pretty sure her parents or someone in their family are being paid - and influencing said amateur to wear them.  Why else would a kid care to wear a patch that has nothing to do with their sport?

[iacas]

Yes, amateur status is a bit of a joke these days in some ways (but then again it was in the 1990s too since Tiger's dad was paid as a "consultant"), but you can't really blame a girl for wearing a golf hat that has the name of a golf company on it. Look at how many of you guys wear hats with "Titleist" or "Nike" on it, or what-have-you, and you're not being paid.

Golf hats have golf brands on them.

P.S. But yes, Srixon almost certainly gave her the hat and strongly implied she wear it.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by iacas

Yes, amateur status is a bit of a joke these days in some ways (but then again it was in the 1990s too since Tiger's dad was paid as a "consultant"), but you can't really blame a girl for wearing a golf hat that has the name of a golf company on it. Look at how many of you guys wear hats with "Titleist" or "Nike" on it, or what-have-you, and you're not being paid.

Golf hats have golf brands on them.

P.S. But yes, Srixon almost certainly gave her the hat and strongly implied she wear it.

Or "thesandtrap.com" ;)

Quick question ... Anybody know WHY she is remaining an amateur?  Is she not old enough to become an official pro?  Or is she just trying to stay an AM so she can win a bunch more prestigious amateur tourneys?  Or, does she really want to play college golf?

[airguard]

We are very proud of her down here. As she is only 16 she would need dispensation from the LPGA to turn pro, and right now she seems very happy to play the game as a game without the huge pressure of every shot counting towards a paycheck. I think you will see her in a few more big tournaments and then maybe turn pro but she wants to attend college in the states and I think a good education is a very important goal in her and her family's life.

She works very hard on her game and gets very upset with herself and she knows these are the type of things that she needs to master to play every week at the top level, good for her!

I personally would like to see the 18 age limit enforced for the tours. We can never get back our teenage years what a shame to have to be an adult under a microscope at that age.

Just my 2 cents worth.

[David in FL]

Sorry, but this says a LOT about the depth and quality of women's professional golf.....

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by airguard

We are very proud of her down here. As she is only 16 she would need dispensation from the LPGA to turn pro, and right now she seems very happy to play the game as a game without the huge pressure of every shot counting towards a paycheck. I think you will see her in a few more big tournaments and then maybe turn pro but she wants to attend college in the states and I think a good education is a very important goal in her and her family's life.

She works very hard on her game and gets very upset with herself and she knows these are the type of things that she needs to master to play every week at the top level, good for her!

Good for her.  Very refreshing.

Originally Posted by David in FL

Sorry, but this says a LOT about the depth and quality of women's professional golf.....

Quite possibly.  Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it could simply be saying a lot about just how talented Lydia Ko is. ;)

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Good for her.  Very refreshing.

Quite possibly.  Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, it could simply be saying a lot about just how talented Lydia Ko is. ;)

Yeah.....

.....but no.

[Mr. Desmond]

Yeah..... .....but no.

Agreed.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Sorry, but this says a LOT about the depth and quality of women's professional golf.....

In a good way or bad way?  Its not like she has won every tournament she has entered...this was her first win of the year and she has had some finishes outside the top 25.  If there was no depth to women's golf, then she would be top 5 every week.  As far as quality goes, I am sure all these women could give you a run for your money.

A teen won this year on the Men's tour and Women tend to mature physically before boys.

With more worldwide exposure, participation and better training, I think the depth and quality of both Men's and Women's professional golf is as good as it has ever been.

[airguard]

Food for thought:

If an amateur wins a tournament, should the prize money go towards amateur sports?

As it stands now all the pros move up, that is Karine Icher takes home first place money for coming in second, and so on. Nothing against these fine athletes.

[Alfa 115]

Lydia Ko can turn pro any time she wants.  Doesn't need the LPGA's approval to do that.  If she wants to play there full time before she turns 18 then she needs to jump through their hoops

to be approved.

I'm guessing she doesn't want to do the Michele Wie thing of going to college and not be able to play college golf.  She is leaving a lot of money on the table though,  It's a tough choice.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Sorry, but this says a LOT about the depth and quality of women's professional golf.....

What....that one of the best players in the world isn't daubed in mascara and facepaint, begging the public to love her?

She's an amazing player.

You are implying that she can't be that good, given her age and amateur status.

[MS256]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Sorry, but this says a LOT about the depth and quality of women's professional golf.....

Hmmm...I don't know. I was impressed with them when I went to a tournament. Hard to say if they should be better than they are or not.

From what I see the most obvious difference (outside of power, which they can't do much about) between them and the men was on short game trouble shots where imagination was needed. It seems they are a little more mechanical and shots outside of the mechanics they practice every day don't come as easily for them as for most of the men.

I also noticed that they don't gamble as much as the men, maybe partially related to the first point. They are very comfortable laying up to a level spot in the fairway and seem to consciously avoid any chance at having those trouble shots even when they hit good enough tee shots to go for the green. A much higher percentage of the men don't mind the gamble.

Also it's not unusual for girls to reach a high level in athletics at a younger age than boys. Sometimes (unfortunately for them) they are at their highest level in high school and don't go up much more from there. There's not usually a huge difference, strictly from an athletic standpoint, between a 16 year old girl and a 20 year old girl whereas there's a huge difference between a 16 year old boy and a 20 year old.