2022 Lydia Ko Mixtape: How To Grind
Since the last Lydia Ko mixtape, Aotearoa's leading golf force has stacked up three top-20 finishes. Ko grabbed a tied-18th in Hawaii to start April, followed by 3T and then a 12T at the Founders Cup earlier this month. As the last mixtape was titled 'Autumn Plateau' we have a continuation of that vibe and it takes the mixtape into grind mode as Ko is sustaining a level of play not seen in her last few LPGA campaigns.
Ko has played eight tournaments so far this year; 10T, 1st, 23T, 12T, 25T, 18T, 3T, 12T.
Those results don't catch the attention of thirsty mainstream media, however they reflect Ko's consistency and gritty-grindy ability. After eight tournaments last year Ko had a missed cut and had a 26T, both of which are worse than anything Ko has dished up this year on tour. Ko had one win last year after eight rounds and has one win again this year, although Ko did have a few more top-10 finishes compared to this year.
Last year's volatility to start the LPGA Tour has now been shifted to a steady grind. If we slide back to Ko's first eight tournaments of 2020, she had a missed cut and three other results worse than anything dished up this year. Ko's first eight tournaments of 2019 also feature a missed cut and two results worse than her 2021 results.
Not only has Ko made the cut of every tournament played this year, Ko has results of 25T or better in every tournament. This consistency was not present in the opening phase of her past three LPGA Tour campaigns and it provides a lovely twist to Autumn Plateau. Ko's 2022 plateau is better than her past three years and the hardest thing for folks to do is grind away with effort, mana and energy every day.
There is room for improvement as well, although not with her putter. Ko is the best putter on tour right now, ranked 1st for Putting Average with 28.25 putts per round. This is Ko's best Putting Average since at least 2015, while there is a decent margin between Ko and the next best putter on tour; Aditi Ashok is ranked 2nd with 28.59 putts per round.
Ko is hitting slightly fewer Greens in Regulation and while she is still 2nd for Sand Saves, there is a notable decrease from 80.95 percent last year to 69.77 percent this year. Regular mixtape readers know that Ko isn't among the best when driving and that needs to be saluted again as Ko is world-class without that aspect in her quiver, yet there seem to be low-hanging fruit improvements in aspects where Ko oozes class. Getting her bunker mahi sharper and taking her GiR percentage over 70 could see Ko register consistent top-10 finishes.
Average Driving Distance
2020: 254.41m - 57th
2021: 259.21m - 64th
2022: 258.23m - 83rd
Driving Accuracy
2020: 66.62% - 121st
2021: 65.52% - 129th
2022: 58.93% - 159th
Greens in Regulation
2020: 68.91% - 36th
2021: 73.06% - 34th
2022: 68.23% - 72nd
Putts per GIR
2020: 1.77 - 4th
2021: 1.72 - 1st
2022: 1.72 - 4th
Putting Average
2020: 29.13 -5th
2021: 28.79 - 2nd
2022: 28.25 - 1st
Sand Saves
2020: 68.25% - 3rd
2021: 59.34% - 3rd
2022: 69.77% - 2nd
Scoring Average
2020: 70.26 - 6th
2021: 69.33 -3rd
2022: 70.13 - 17tth
Rounds under Par
2020: 26 -10th
2021: 54 - 5th
2022: 22 - 12th
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