In Olympic victory, the real Lydia Ko came out with 1 gesture
Lydia Ko hits a tee shot on Saturday at Le Golf National.
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The scorecard signature could wait.
Others needed to be written first.
Over the previous five hours, it had been some afternoon at Le Golf National for Lydia Ko. She started the final round of the Olympic tournament tied for the lead. She surged ahead. She hung on. She won by two, and with it, she locked up LPGA Hall of Fame status and secured medals in all three Games since their return in 2016.
Now, though, Ko wanted to give back, to thank the faithful, and through a simple gesture — the signing of her name — she tried.
For more than a few minutes.
Walking off the 18th green, where she had just hugged playing partners Rose Zhang and Morgane Metraux, their caddies and hers, Ko gave a ball to a standard bearer, then signed one for an official, then signed one for another official — then signed another one and underhand-tossed it to the gallery.
From there, Ko started to walk up the path that led to the scoring tent, where a scorecard needed to be signed — only to stop for the fans to the left of the walkway. There, she signed seven hats, before taking one long step to her left and signing eight hats, a flag, a shirt and a ball.
Said analyst Morgan Pressel on the Golf Channel broadcast: “Not only is she a wonderful golfer and a tremendous champion, she’s a wonderful person as well. You can see that emotion.”
Said Pressel after a pause: “She better get over and sign that scorecard.”
Said announcer Steve Sands: “She’ll be signing those hats all day long if she doesn’t.”
She moved on, up the path, where she signed a shirt for a boy and a shirt for another official, before stopping to hug her sister, Sura. She then signed more, for the folks to the right of the path. Five more hats. Then Sura came over, whispering what seemingly was guidance to head to scoring.
Ko did, then stopped for a couple more fans.
Lydia Ko clinches gold medal, LPGA Hall of Fame in dramatic Olympic finish
Afterward, Zhang was asked about the newest gold medalist. What did they talk about walking up 18? Zhang got reflective. She said Ko has been a mentor to her. She said that when she turned pro a year ago, Ko made her feel comfortable. She said that Ko was cheering her on on Saturday. On 18, she visibly tried to will in Zhang’s eagle putt that just brushed past the hole.
A reporter then asked Zhang about the fan interaction. Was this different?
“For Lydia, you mean? Lydia has always been like that,” Zhang said. “She’s always such a people person. I feel like maybe today she enjoyed it a lot more. She really just took it all in and she hit some incredible shots just throughout the day.
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