LPGA golfer Lydia Ko has praised Rory McIlroy’s greatness in her latest interview.
Ko spoke about the Northern Irishman in the context of staying motivated after winning the biggest events.
McIlroy has previously admitted that he lost some motivation after completing the Career Grand Slam at The Masters.
However, he proved himself wrong by winning the Irish Open and the Ryder Cup in the months after his career-defining success.
Ko has now highlighted the quality that separates star players like McIlroy from the rest of the field.
Lydia Ko knows why Rory McIlroy is ‘so good’
Ko spoke to the media ahead of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore this week.
The three-time major champion and 24-time LPGA winner was asked whether she had experienced a similar loss of motivation to Rory.
“I haven’t done the career Grand Slam, so maybe if I do that, then I might lose motivation like Rory,” Ko responded.
She then explained that McIlroy has never lost his fierce competitiveness, which is the reason he will remain a world-class player for a while.
“I’m sure he might have lost a bit of motivation, but at the same time, when a player is that good and is that calibre, I feel like he still doesn’t like losing,” Ko continued.
“Yeah, there might be a question in your head like, ‘Okay, what’s next?’ And I’ve had that question in my career at multiple points.
“Even after winning the Silver Medal in Rio, that was such a big goal of mine. After that was done, I had lost a little bit of sense of direction in my career.
“Yeah, I do think that when you are at that high level, it means you are a little different, very special.
“I don’t know what the next event he teed up at, but he still wanted to win at the end of Sunday, and I think that’s what makes him so good.”
Ko made an excellent point. Even though McIlroy has fewer things on his bucket list, he will always be determined to win every event he plays in.
Lydia Ko highlights US Women’s Open on LPGA calendar
Ko admitted that she would like to win the US Women’s Open more than any other tournament.
The New Zealander would then become only the eighth Grand Slam champion in women’s golf history.
“I think the US Women’s Open has always been a big star or key on the schedule in any season,” Ko said. “I obviously haven’t won that. So that’s always a motivation.”
However, Ko is not focused on completing the Grand Slam; she just wants to play her best golf and see what happens.
“I’m honestly excited for the process and not really what exact event that I really want to grasp,” she added.
“I feel like if I do the process well, then everything else is going to kind of sort itself out.”
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