When three of the best women ever to play golf appraise 17-year-old Lydia Ko, they look at the new No. 1 on the Rolex Rankings with a ton of admiration and a sprinkle of incredulity.
Between them, Kathy Whitworth, Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez won 208 LPGA tournaments and collected 19 Player of the Year awards over five decades. They know greatness. And they believe Ko, who won an LPGA event when she was 15 and has five victories already, is something special.
"No question she is unique," said Whitworth, 75, whose 88 career victories are the most anyone has on the LPGA or PGA Tour. "Sometimes a special player comes along and you just enjoy them."
Sorenstam, a 72-time winner and No. 1 for 60 consecutive weeks when the Rolex Rankings debuted in 2006, is impressed not only by Ko's victories but her week-to-week form -- 23 top-10 finishes and no missed cuts in 43 LPGA starts.
"It's not always about the highs but about the lows, and she's amazing in the consistency she has displayed," said Sorenstam, 44. "We all know we don't have our 'A game' all the time, and it's about being able to score despite not having our best day. When you watch her, you might not see the fire that's inside, but the consistency is a display of that. You're not that competitive if you don't have that fire inside."
Lopez, 58, who won nine of her 48 career LPGA titles during a stellar 1978 rookie season that launched her into the spotlight, played with a joy for the game that she believes Ko shares. "It's fun to watch her," Lopez said. "She just has that look that she is really enjoying what she is doing. You've got to play this game loving it and not letting it control you. Sometimes players, and parents mostly, get you all uptight about stuff. Lydia seems to play for herself."
In assessing Ko's swing, Whitworth, a student of the legendary Harvey Penick much of her career, lauds the work New Zealand instructor Guy Wilson did with Ko prior to her recent switch to David Leadbetter. "He has done a super job," she said. "I know Lydia has gone on to another teacher now, but I hope they don't do too much to her. She was taught well and has good fundamentals."
Whitworth particularly likes Ko's dynamic leg action, even likening her technique to that of 82-time LPGA winner Mickey Wright, whose swing was the best Ben Hogan said he ever saw. "It doesn't look like Mickey, because Mickey is tall," said Whitworth, "but the way Lydia's legs move, the weight shift and how she gets through the shot is kind of a 'sit' motion that Mickey always had. She uses her legs really, really well."
Lopez has observed a confident simplicity in Ko's approach, similar to her outlook, that distinguishes the teenager from some in the current generation who get bogged down with minutiae at the expense of the bigger picture. "I don't see a mechanical look in her face, like her swing has to be just so," Lopez said. "You can tell she knows how to think her way around the course. She doesn't look like she hopes to get it done; she's just going to get it done."
That innate ability, an X Factor belonging to a rare few, jumps out to Sorenstam. "If you look at her game," Sorenstam said, "Lydia doesn't stand as the longest hitter or the one with the best short game, but she's very solid in every area -- she puts it all together. There are some things you can work on, and some things you just have, and there is something special there."
For all Ko has accomplished before she turns 18 years old in April, the journey is just beginning. Ascending to a formal No. 1 position in golf four years earlier than any man or woman has, is one thing. Staying there -- and thriving from the summit that some have recoiled from -- is another.
"When I was playing my best, I didn't pay attention to accolades at all," Lopez said. "It was like, 'I'm going to play, and I'm going to do my best.' I set goals, and No. 1 was just going to happen. Lydia's probably not going to worry about it. She just wants to be her best, and her best is pretty awesome."
Having aspired to be the best and achieved it, Sorenstam understands the quest and the end game. The latter can be more difficult.
"A lot of times when you get to No. 1 it's tough because everybody's looking at you and kind of trying to pull you down," she said. "When you're chasing somebody, you kind of see where you're going. Now, at No. 1, you're driving the train and you have to keep working through different things. Some players find that really difficult. From a mental perspective, she seems to have everything in order. She's on a roll. I hope she enjoys it along the way -- don't push too hard, smell the roses a little bit."
Whitworth was impressed by how Ko handled her defeat last weekend at the Coates Golf Championship after making some crucial mistakes late in the final round. Regardless of how often she won, Whitworth knows what a roller-coaster of emotions tournament golf can be. Dealing with the inevitable valleys will be part of Ko's long-term challenge.
"She's going to have her ups and downs," Whitworth said. "We all do. You have doubts, you'll have slumps. You do a lot of soul searching, but you learn to play through it. The bumps in the road help you appreciate the good things. At 17, she's got learning to do. Gosh, not a day must go by when she doesn't learn something."
There is no arguing how well Ko has applied those lessons up to now.
"She seems very calm and really nothing stresses her," Sorenstam said. "I like her approach. She comes in, lets the clubs do the talking, wins a tournament then another one. That's pretty cool."