Ko’s career was on the rocks not so long ago. Her staggering golf ascension as a teenager had stalled compared with what was expected. Even the final point needed to get her into the LPGA Hall of Fame was in doubt.
Suddenly, the magic is back, and better than before. What a remarkable few weeks for her.
Lydia Ko celebrates victory with her husband, Chung Jun, after claiming her third major title. Photo / Getty Images
Olympic gold medal, Hall of Fame entry and now the British Open title on the St Andrews Old Course, the fabled home of golf.
No wonder the 27-year-old described it as surreal, after her third – and third different – major title.
Ko didn’t hold the outright lead the British Open at any stage until the final hole. She had to fend off the high-quality leaderboard in awful weather.
It has all come together in amazing ways, a decade after the year in which Time named Ko as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
If awards are your thing (they’re not mine), then Ko has got the top Kiwi sports prize wrapped up this year.
Many will favour Dame Lisa Carrington’s latest Olympic haul, and all power to the power paddler.
But if we have to compare apples and oranges, then golf is a way bigger world deal than canoeing. It’s not even close. Heck, even Donald Trump posted about Ko.
“She is most impressive,” Trump exclaimed after her Olympic triumph, as he made an uncharacteristic visit with the truth.
Ko doubters (hand up here) pointed to things like constant coaching and even equipment changes as evidence of a potentially great career getting needlessly blown off course.
It has come together – in an almost dream-like sequence – in a world game of increasingly high standards that Ko herself helped inspire.
As Ko had hoped – after being emboldened by the American gymnast Simone Biles – she has indeed got to “write her own ending”.
WINNER: Scott Robertson... he should hire this bloke
Shunting bad-fit assistant Leon MacDonald out of the way is a major step towards asserting his control of the All Blacks, a la the way Rassie Erasmus dominates South African rugby.
MacDonald, a quiet but very resolute character, couldn’t be bothered trying to keep the charade going by bending against his coaching concepts. Some might have. Kudos to both men, really.
I believe New Zealand Rugby should have proactively pursued Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown to take over from Ian Foster.
Tony Brown and Jamie Joseph led the Highlanders to their maiden and only Super Rugby title in 2015. Photo / Photosport
With that combo out of the picture, there is one man who stands out as a potential All Blacks assistant and influencer if MacDonald is to be replaced – Blues boss Vern Cotter.
Cotter is the one Super Rugby Pacific coach who adheres to the brutal approach needed to regularly combat a team like South Africa.
He has, to my eye, squared up the Blues’ game with the ball by making physical demands the players know cannot be ignored.
Other coaches still flirt with traditional Super Rugby-style frivolity, a nod to New Zealand’s belief that it has the players for a beautiful game. All Blacks No 10 Damian McKenzie typifies this dangerous hit-or-miss festival rugby approach to test rugby.
Cotter’s promotion to All Blacks assistant is unlikely to happen of course, and I don’t know if he would even quit the Blues to accept the role. I’m indulging in wild speculation.
But he is the man.
The All Blacks also need a top rugby league coach on board, so they can better deal with and incorporate the winning trends in the test game.
LOSER: The Warriors... a club on the brink of disaster
Turned another early lead into another NRL loss, this time against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
They need a lot more than the arrival of James Fisher-Harris next season to turn things around. Something is rotten within that team.
LOSER: The America’s Cup, because...
It is too hard to stay awake for the midnight starts when mere preliminary racing is on offer. It will be fascinating to see how interest builds in New Zealand for the Barcelona regatta.
WINNER: Manchester City and ‘ridiculous’ Erling Haaland
The mighty Norwegian striker already has a hat-trick and after two rounds, City are on top of the English Premier League table as they seek a fifth consecutive title.
With Norway failing to qualify for Euro 2024, Haaland has gone into the season well rested.
He has scored 94 goals in 101 games for Manchester City, a number his coach Pep Guardiola calls “ridiculous”.
WINNER: This impossible story
Danny Jansen is the first American Major League Baseball player to appear in the same game for both teams.
Jansen was in the Toronto Blue Jays team, whose June game against the Boston Red Sox was suspended in the second innings because of rain.
He has since been traded to the Red Sox, with the game to be completed this week.
“He’s catching. Let’s make history,” said Boston manager Alex Cora.
Jansen said it was “extremely rare and cool”.
WINNER: Shohei Ohtani
The Japanese player might be the most incredible baseballer in history. He hit a winning grand slam for the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, but that’s far from the whole story.
He became just the sixth player to have 40 home runs and 40 base steals in a season, and reached the mark quickest.
Ohtani is also a great MLB pitcher, although he is not taking the mound this year because of injury.
Ohtani has been called a modern-day Babe Ruth, although he will never match the legend of Ruth. But he’s a way better base stealer, that’s for sure.
Ruth was terrible. He stole a reasonable 123 bases but was caught out almost as many times. Some pundits say this was because Ruth did whatever he liked – in baseball and life – no matter the risk.
LOSER: Credibility... and this fool
England-born cyclist Matt Richardson, who won Paris Olympic medals for Australia, flipped to join the British team.
And the five-time world champion had the temerity to diss his critics, saying they “probably don’t even know what sport I play”.
This act of obfuscation says more about the arrogant Richardson than the “keyboard bashers” he is attacking.
The critics include top Aussie cyclist Katherine Bates, who presumably does understand what a keirin is. She said teammates felt “ripped off” by Richardson’s shock switch.
Moves like Richardson’s are a major reason why international sport has lost its magic.
WINNER/LOSER: Grace Nweke/Netball New Zealand
The Kiwi netball star’s decision to join the powerful Australian league makes a lot of sense. She wanted more life and netball challenges.
Grace Nweke is set to be available to play for New Zealand in the upcoming Constellation Cup series against Australia. Photo / Photosport
It’s Netball New Zealand’s choice to ban her from the Silver Ferns next year. The national administration needs to be more flexible, and it has been in the past.
Instead, the Ferns have lost THE key component of their World Cup build-up, and Kiwi fans have lost a star for next year. It is all so damn stupid.
WINNER: Maya Moore
WNBA legend Maya Moore had her Minnesota Lynx number retired, a reminder of her remarkable story.
The double Olympic gold medallist is an activist who stepped away from basketball to successfully fight to free Jonathan Irons, a man sentenced to 50 years in prison for an assault and burglary he did not commit. They are now married. Only in America. You’ve got to love their sport.
