NEWS

Lydia Ko named top women's amateur golfer for third straight year

By PGA.com news services
Published on
Lydia Ko named top women's amateur golfer for third straight year

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland -- Lydia Ko of New Zealand has received the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the world's leading women amateur for a third straight year. 

The medal was presented by the Royal & Ancient and United States Golf Association on Wednesday. 

The 16-year-old Ko successfully defended the CN Canadian Women's Open title on the LPGA Tour, then finished runner-up at the Evian Championship, the year's last major. Other highlights include a tie for third in the Australian Women's Open, and tie for 17th in the LPGA Championship. 

The McCormack Medal award is presented by The R&A and the USGA, which jointly administer the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and recognizes Ko’s outstanding performance in leading the ranking again this year.

“I am very proud and honored to win the McCormack Medal for a third time,” said Ko. “I know there are many talented young amateurs playing at the elite level around the world, so I am delighted to have finished No. 1 in the WAGR once again.”

“On behalf of the USGA, I extend our congratulations to Lydia on her third consecutive McCormack Medal -- a feat that truly is historic,” said USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. “Her position in the WAGR is a testament to her hard work, talent and dedication, and we look forward to watching her marvellous career continue to unfold in the years to come.”

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Ko’s successful 2013 continued her rich vein of form from last year when she became one of the youngest winners of a professional golf championship at the New South Wales Open on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour aged 14. She won the Australian Women’s Amateur and was runner-up in the Australian Women’s Stroke Play Championship. She also received the silver medal as the leading amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open and won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

The World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The Men’s WAGR encompasses more than 2,900 counting events, ranking more than 6,500 players representing 100 countries worldwide. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of over 2,000 counting events with more than 3,600 ranked players representing 88 countries worldwide.