Lydia Ko recently ended a 1,084-day victory drought at the Lotte Championship at Oahu in Hawaii. The comeback was a feel-good win for anyone who loves golf. When it was over, Ko said she took inspiration from recent drought-ending victories by Jordan Spieth (1,351 days) and Hideki Matsuyama (1,344 days).
“That kind of gave me a little bit of hope saying maybe I could follow that trend,” said Ko, who won the Lotte Championship by seven strokes and now owns 16 LPGA titles. The 23-year-old Kiwi’s last victory came on April 29, 2018, at the LPGA Mediheal Championship. The winningest teenager in the history of the LPGA looked sharp and focused during Lotte.
Ko credits instructor Sean Foley with helping to resurrect her confidence. “I just keep trying to point her inwards,” said Foley, while walking around Augusta National. Since reconnecting with trainer Craig Davies, Ko has gained 15 pounds of muscle. Davies said she goes at it so hard in the gym that they have to tell her to scale back.
Dealing with online racism
Two men have been charged by NSW Police for racially vilifying South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell via social media. Mitchell informed the NRL’s Integrity Unit of the offensive messages he received in late April, with the league governing body escalating the incident to police. Police arrested a 22-year-old Taree man and a 25-year-old Lake Munmorah man – charging the pair with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence. The duo will be bailed to appear in NSW courts this month.
The abuse toward Mitchell came in the aftermath of receiving a four-match suspension for a dangerous contact charge during a match against the Wests Tigers. Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly backed Mitchell’s decision to inform the NRL about the vilification and hoped other players would do the same in the 23-year-old’s position.
