Lydia Ko planning her retirement?!?!

[Aotearoa_Brad]

Okay, so that headline is a little sensationalized ... but it is pretty crazy (and at the same time very sane) for a 17-year old at the top of her professional sport, which she gets paid very handsomely to compete in, to be planning for her exit from the sport.

 

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[Emily Kay, SB Nation]

 

Lydia Ko may be just 17 and on top of the golf world as the youngest player of either gender to reach the No. 1 ranking, but the teenager is already making plans to become a psychologist when she retires at 30.

 

Preparing for Thursday's first round of the Women's Australian Open, Ko talked with reporters about working toward an online psychology degree while competing for major titles. For sure, the 2014 LPGA Rookie of the Year won't just kick back and watch her investments grow when she hangs up her spikes some 13 years from now.

 

"I always 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 at Royal Melbourne, where she'll face defending champ Karrie Webb and 18-year-old reigning Australian Ladies Masters winner Su Oh in the first two rounds. "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."

 

Webb, a five-time Aussie Open winner, hit the gym during the offseason, which is something she did not have to do so much when she was younger.

 

"It definitely makes you feel old when your rookie year was before they were born," the 40-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer said of her two opening-round playing partners. "When we're competing against one another I don't really see age as a problem or a difference. We all have the same goal, which is to get the white ball in the hole."

 

With plans to begin studies at Korea University next month, Ko conceded that balancing work and school would be a challenge. Michelle Wie, a teen phenom years before Ko exploded on the scene, certainly found it so and took heat for letting college interfere with her game.

 

"I have some big textbooks that I need to read," said the fan of psychological thrillers on TV. "It's going to be tough to juggle both things at the same time."

 

While she expects that some of what she will study to be of little immediate use to her game, other aspects could help her become an even better golfer, which has to be somewhat frightening for her opponents. Ko has won eight professional tournaments worldwide and never missed a cut on the LPGA Tour.

 

"I'm sure when I go to sports psychology or treatment, that's the part that will help me, but testing rats or whatever I'm sure that's not going to help me," said Ko. "But I think it's going to be fun. I like to watch like Criminal Minds and stuff like that so maybe it'll help me figure out what they're thinking."

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Okay, so she has 13 years to really make sure that retirement is the right decision. If it were me I would be simply enjoying professional golf while I could. There are no guarantees, and while that is exactly the reason you might want to have a back-up plan, she's in a position that if things went horribly wrong on tour for some reason, she has enough in the bank already to ensure that she could take the time required to carve out an alternate career... I just think this will be an unnecessary distraction at this point - but it's her life, and have to give her kudos for being so level-headed.

 

BTW - she won the ISPS Womens Australian Open on Sunday.

[mr_divots]

One shot at a time. Lydia. One shot at a time...

And when 3.5 caps are ready to take you down, well, the wiritng is on the wall. LOL!

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

I think she knows Bones is gunning for her as soon as he can figure out how to pass the estrogen test.  She's scared of hiim - plain as day! 

[Zeasy]

One shot at a time. Lydia. One shot at a time...

And when 3.5 caps are ready to take you down, well, the wiritng is on the wall. LOL!

 

My first thought when I read the headline was "Wow, she's really scared of Bones." After reading, I realized that she isn't.... yet. 

[ZenGolfer]

I say good for her.  It seems like especially for the LPGA players, once they get married and start having kids, their career is over anyways, so its smart on her part to have a plan for when golf is over.

[mr_divots]

I say good for her.  It seems like especially for the LPGA players, once they get married and start having kids, their career is over anyways, so its smart on her part to have a plan for when golf is over.

Which is precisely why she should wait and focus on golf. She can get a physchology degree at any stage of life. Makes absolutely no sense. She cites Michelle Wie, but that is the "how not to do things" example.

Odd.

[revkev]

The big difference between her and Wie at this age is........she has won stuff. Wie skipped way too many steps but has certainly gotten back on track.

 

Regardless when you are 17 30 seems forever away, let's not get too worked up on this one. Nicklaus was going to retire by 40 when he was Rory's age and he ended up having a Hall of Fame career just in his 40s alone.

[xxio]

Window is a lot smaller for the ladies for some reason. Maybe strength? drive? natural motherly instincts?

 

IIRC of Paula's batch she is the only one still on tour. Even Inkster disappeared then had a resurgence.

 

Laura Davies is another matter altogether. 

[whiskey golf]

Which is precisely why she should wait and focus on golf. She can get a physchology degree at any stage of life. Makes absolutely no sense. She cites Michelle Wie, but that is the "how not to do things" example.

Odd.

 

While she technically could get a degree later in life, it would be a lot tougher at that stage than her age now. You forget stuff such as study habits, how to write good papers, etc.; okay maybe not forget but your skills decrease, especially for her since she is golfing most of the time. Plus for psychology, from what I hear, you will want a graduate degree of some sort to become more marketable and that will take even more time. By then, the dream of a being a psychologist may not be worth it.

[xxio]

I don't think she has to worry about marketability later on. Her golf fame if she continues on her track should take care of that.

[mr_divots]

Well, I for one wish I had millions upon millions at age 30 and all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted.

Why would there be any constraints on someone in such a positiion in life? Getting a psych degree under such circumstances sounds, well, not out of reach to say the least.

 

Would you tell any other professional they couldn't start again at age 30? Of course not. And they wouldn't have the means to make it happen like she will.

 

If nothing else, the LPGA creates a "hurry, they won't play forever" vibe. And unfortunaely, too many of their top players have retired while still very viable in their games. That doesn't help loyalty to that tour, exactly.

 

And she's 17. She could change her mind 20 times.

[whiskey golf]

I don't think she has to worry about marketability later on. Her golf fame if she continues on her track should take care of that.

 

Yes but just because someone is famous and has a psychology degree doesn't mean that they are a good psychologist. I'm not saying that she wouldn't be a good one but if I had to choose between her and say she only has a bachelor's, or someone with a doctorate who had years of experience while she was golfing, I may lean towards the doctorate first. 

[xxio]

I'm talking about having the need to actually get a job/make money from psychology. She could even be after the degree, the knowledge, and the use of that knowledge on it's own without thinking of having it as a wage earner after.

 

Conversely it could be argued some might go see her just for the mere fact that she was a former no1. 

 

She may even go into sports psychology and her past experiences will definitely be a selling point there.