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Lydia Ko celebrates her 20th birthday by ... hiring a new caddie
Christian Petersen
What is Lydia Ko getting for her 20th birthday? How about a new caddie.
As of Monday, the No. 1 player on the Rolex Rankings is no longer a teenager and she is also no longer without a looper. According to GolfChannel.com, Ko will have veteran caddie Pete Godfrey on her bag this week at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout in Irving, Texas.
Godfrey, an Englishman who was recently married to LPGA Tour pro Jane Park, was named Caddie of the Year by his peers in March at the HSBC Women’s Champions, when he was caddieing for Ha Na Jang. Within the last year, Godfrey has also caddied for Ko’s chief rival, Ariya Jutanugarn; the pair worked together when Jutanugarn won the Women’s British Open last summer.
What remains unclear is whether this is a trial pairing or whether Ko and Godfrey (below left) will be working together for an extended period.
Scott Halleran
Much has been made of this being the 10th caddie that Ko will have used since turning professional in 2013. But when the New Zealander leaving her teenage years behind, the statistic that’s still hard to fathom is that Ko has won 14 LPGA events and 19 professional tournaments overall before turning 20.