Lydia Ko's win at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii marks a high point in her recent years on LPGA Tour and while it saw Ko reclaim her best golf, there's plenty of nuance to explore. Here's five key things to digest before Ko's back out hunting another slick display...

It's Been Coming

Yeah, the last few years have been tough for Ko but her win in Hawaii was the product of a slow build. 2020 started off with Ko missing the cut in Australia, then 2020 threw a couple doosras into the mix. Emerging post-lockdowns, Ko settled into a consistent patch of solid golf where she hasn't missed a cut since and in the 12 tournaments played in 2020 after the LPGA Tour re-started, Ko had five finishes in the top-10.

Three of those top-10 finishes came in the last four tournaments of 2020, which flowed into results of tied-2nd, tied-8th, tied-26th and 2nd to start this year. In Ko's last eight tournaments prior to her win in Hawaii, Ko registered six top-10 finishes.

The Driver

The biggest change Ko's golf has been with her driver. Perhaps the lowest point of this past decade was the 2016-17 range for Ko and her average driver distance hovered around 245-248m. Last year Ko took that up to 254.41m per drive and so far this year, Ko is whacking her drives 261.48m. At the LOTTE Championship Ko averaged 267m and her round three average was a relatively whopping 281m .

Hitting the ball further, Ko has also increased her driving accuracy from 66.62 percent last year to 69.29 percent this year. Considering that Ko's driving accuracy was a bit better earlier in her career, led by 78.41 percent in 2017, it's safe to say that increasing her distance and maintaining solid accuracy has been more helpful than zoning in on accuracy.

Short Stuff

Ko is hitting the ball further off the tee and whether it's a case of Ko's putting getting easier via that improvement or her putting complimenting her extra distance, Ko has steadily improved her putting. Chuck this in the 'It's Been Coming' bucket as Ko's steadily been building up to this point and we can see this in her 'Putts Per GIR' and 'Putting Average'.

Putts per Greens in Regulation/Putting Average

(How many putts Ko needs when on the green in 2 shots better than par and how many putts Ko averages in a round)

2019: 1.78/29.15

2020: 1.77/29.13

2021: 1.70/28.50

Combine this with Ko improving her work out of bunkers...

Sand Saves

2019: 55.95%.

2020: 68.25%.

2021: 73.68%.

Activity and Consistency

Ko has only missed the first tournament this year, playing the next five tournaments. Last year Ko played 13 tournaments while the busiest players got through 18. Now Ko is set to play the Los Angeles Open starting tomorrow (NZT) and after that there are tournaments in Singapore and Thailand in consecutive weeks. Ko has already had a busy start to the year and she's found form within that, making these next three weeks rather enticing as Ko has a busy schedule on offer.

Rankings

Scoring Average: 3rd - 68.85.

Player of the Year: 2nd - 69 points.

Top-10 Finishes: 2nd - 4.

Prize Money: 1st.

Peace and love.