In the victory of the Olympics, the real Lydia Ko came out with 1 act

The signature of the result card can wait.

Some needed to be written first.

Five hours ago, it was a certain afternoon at Le Golf National for Lydia Ko. He started the final round of the Olympic tournament tied for the lead. He moved forward. He caught himself. He won two, and with it, closed the ranks of the LPGA Hall of Fame and earned medals in all three Games since their return in 2016.

Now, however, Ko wanted to give back, to thank the faithful, and with a simple act – to sign his name – he tried.

More than a few minutes.

Walking off the 18th green, where he had just hugged fellow players Rose Zhang and Morgane Metraux, their caddies and his, Ko handed the ball to a regular player, then signed to an official, then another official – then another. one more underhand—he threw it into the gallery.

From there, Ko began walking down the path leading to the scoring tent, where a scorecard was required to be signed – to stand for fans on the left side of the walkway. There, he signed seven hats, before taking one long step to his left and signing eight hats, a flag, a shirt and a ball.

Commentator Morgan Pressel said on Golf Channel: “Not only is he an amazing golfer and an amazing champion, he's an amazing person as well.” You can see that feeling.”

Pressl said after the break: “He better go over and sign that score card.”

Broadcaster Steve Sands said: “He'll be signing those hats all day if he doesn't sign them.”

He moved on, up the street, where he signed a boy's shirt and another officer's shirt, before stopping to hug his sister, Sura. Then he signed more, to the people on the right side of the road. Five more hats. Then came Sura, whispering what seemed to be directions for scoring.

Ko did it, then stopped a few fans.

After that, Zhang was asked about the new gold benefactor. What did they say about going 18? Zhang is optimistic. He said Ko has been a mentor to him. He said that when he turned professional last year, Ko made him feel comfortable. He said Ko was cheering for him on Saturday. On 18, he clearly tried to love Zhang's eagle just past the hole.

The reporter then asked Zhang about the cooperation of the fans. Was this different?

“About Lydia, you mean? Lydia has always been like that,” said Zhang. “He is always like that. I feel like you enjoyed yourself a lot today. He really just took it all in and hit some amazing shots all day.

“So I thank him.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].