Lydia Ko plans to retire from professional golf when she’s 30
Enjoy Lydia Ko while you can. The 17-year-old world No. 1 has already planned for her retirement.
Ko, who will begin her collegiate studies (mostly online) at Korea University in March, expects to walk away from professional golf when she’s 30. What will she do next? Become a psychologist.
“I say my plan is to retire when I’m 30 so I’m not just going to go to the beach and hang out for the rest of my life,” Ko said Wednesday ahead of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne. “There’s always a second career that comes along with it and I’m trying to build up towards it and, because I’m playing a sport, psychology links well with it.”
The Kiwi teen, who became the youngest No. 1 in golf history with a runner-up finish at the LPGA’s season-opening event last month in Ocala, Fla., has plenty of money in the bank. Last November, Ko landed the biggest single payday in the history of women’s golf, winning $500,000 for taking the CME Group Tour Championship and earning a $1,000,000 bonus as winner of the inaugural Race to the CME Globe.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
