LYDIA KO, A GOLF STAR AT 14, BUT IS SHE MISSING OUT AS A CHILD?

FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
She may be an international golfing superstar, but Lydia Ko, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, still relaxes by blobbing out in front of the television watching cartoons and cooking shows. Lydia Ko, 14, became the youngest female (or male) to win a professional tournament when she won the New South Wales Open at the Oatlands Golf Club on Sunday.
Coach Guy Wilson said the win was the result of years of dedication by Ko. "Her ability does not match her age," he said, meaning she has the ability of someone twice her age.
Ko moved to North Shore, New Zealand from South Korea when she was five and puts golf before anything else in her life, he said.
"It's all she knows," Wilson said.
Every week Ko trains between 30 to 50 hours, including three sessions with a physiotherapist, two with a personal trainer and regularly working on mental performance, alongside the hours clocked up on the golf course, Wilson said. "Half the reason why she's been so successful is because she's South Korean. It's why you don't find too many successful Kiwi kids, because the work ethic isn't there."
Like most teens, she enjoys eating chocolate and lollies and is not restrained by a sporting diet, although her South Korean heritage means she eats a lot of rice, Wilson said.
Between golf and school, Ko has very little free time. She enjoys drawing and playing the piano, but her favourite way to relax is to watch cartoons and programmes about food on television.
Pinehurst School executive principal Sherida Penman Walters said Ko's maturity is beyond her years.
"She's an absolutely unassuming young woman with a wonderful level of maturity about her."
Penman Walters said most of her classmates did not realise how well Ko is doing in the world of golf.
"She's very calm and quiet, not one of those students who said `look at me'." The Year 11 pupil misses about a third of the school year while on tour, but continues her studies while away, with teachers keeping her up to date via the internet, Penman Walters said.
"Lydia's very good at making sure she does her work."
Wilson said Ko would often stay up until the early hours if she had an assignment to complete. Meanwhile, Ko has a hectic three weeks ahead. This week she will play in the Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines, and the Australian Open in Melbourne next week, an event co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour that has attracted the cream of the world's players.
The following week the pair will be in Christchurch for the New Zealand Open at Pegasus, which tees off on February 17.