Golf is ready to hand the reigns of the LPGA Tour over to Lydia Ko. At 18 years old, she has already accomplished more than most golfers are able to achieve in her lifetime. She owns 14 worldwide victories, including 10 on the LPGA Tour, and she became the youngest person to win a professional golf major since 1868. She isn't set on being just the future of the Tour - she's ready to lead women's professional golf right now.
There's only one problem - Inbee Park stands in her way.
When Ko took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings at the beginning of 2015, it looked to be a permanent move. After all, Ko was younger than Park, and her best golf was seemingly ahead of her. As she became more comfortable being the leader of the LPGA Tour, she would theoretically begin to win tournaments by very wide margins and leave all the previous contenders in the dust. Ko would become more comfortable, as evidence of her five victories last season, but Park wasn't content on allowing Ko to have her way with the Tour. She won five tournaments of her own, including two majors. She became the seventh player in LPGA history, and the first Korean, to complete the Career Grand Slam. Ko would be named the 2015 Player Of The Year, but Park earned enough points with her victories and her Vare Trophy win to punch a ticket into the World Golf Hall Of Fame.
In a sport that is used to either individual dominance or complete parity, it is unusual when rivalries exist. The fact that Ko and Park are miles above the competition and are battling for victories every week is incredibly unique. Combined, the two have won 16 times in the past two seasons, two of the three LPGA Player Of The Year Awards, and, thanks to Ko, no one else has won the CME Globe title.
Personality wise, the two couldn't be any more different. Ko is younger, more personable, and social media savvy. Park turns 28 next year, which may as well be 50 on the LPGA Tour. She's married, more reserved, and her only social media presence is her Twitter page, where her posts are few, especially during the season. Park approaches a golf course as a tactician who hits fairways and greens, and eventually takes down a field by making very few mistakes. Ko is more of a risk taker that will trade bogeys for birdies and can win a tournament out of nowhere, but is also vulnerable to losing a tournament she seems to have in hand. Ko has a swing that is straight out of a golf textbook, while Park's swing seems to only work for Park. Both have proven that there is no wrong way to win a golf tournament, and both have the mind of a steel trap that makes them deadly coming down the stretch on a Sunday.
There is no reason to think either golfer will slow down next season. In fact, with a renewed focus and a short amount of time away from the game, both are expected to perform even better in 2016. That can only mean good things for the LPGA Tour, as the two players work to separate themselves from one another. No matter what, though, don't expect either player to take any jabs at the other. They're both too nice to take it personal.