Lydia Ko shows ‘the ropes’ to Amelia Garvey ahead of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open

Lydia Ko will make her 12th start of the 2025 LPGA season at the AIG Women’s Open, where she will defend her title. Ahead of the Major, she was seen helping fellow New Zealand golfer Amelia Garvey with some tips at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.

Ko is coming off a missed cut at the Amundi Evian Championship, where she finished 5-over. She will now head into the final Major of the season, scheduled from July 31 to August 3 in Wales.

Garvey shared a photo on her Instagram story, standing next to Ko with their golf bags at the venue. She captioned it:

“defending champ showing me the ropes @lydsko.”

Ko later shared the post with her 321K followers.

Screenshot of Lydia Ko's reshared story on Instagram (via @lydsko)

Last season, Ko won three events, including the AIG Women’s Open, where she finished 7-under to take the title. Interestingly, she had missed the cut at the same tournament in 2023. So far in 2025, she has played in 11 events, with one win at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, three top-10 finishes, and back-to-back missed cuts at the Dow Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship.

Statistically, Ko has maintained solid numbers this season. She ranks third in both Strokes Gained Around the Green and Par 5 Scoring Average, and fourth in Scrambling.

Overall, she averages 1.62 in Total Strokes Gained, which places her 11th on the LPGA. Her Tee to Green stats stand at 0.73 (34th), while she gains 0.43 on approach shots (38th). Though her Off the Tee performance is weaker at -0.24 (114th), she has been consistent with the putter, gaining 0.80 strokes to rank 16th.

Lydia Ko reflects on career uncertainty and looks ahead to the Royal Porthcawl challenge

Lydia Ko admitted that she occasionally questions her future in professional golf. Speaking on the No Laying Up podcast ahead of the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, the Kiwi golfer said there are days when she walks off the course wondering why she’s still competing.

“I honestly don’t know how long I am going to be around for. One-hundred percent, there are days when I come off the golf course and I'm like ‘why am I still doing this'. But I still want to get better and I've got a great team around me that's helping me with that process,” Ko said.

Lydia Ko also shared her thoughts on the new venue, saying she’s looking forward to playing at Royal Porthcawl. She joked that the course, known to have a lot of sheep around, might remind her of home in New Zealand, where it’s often said there are more sheep than people. For her, visiting a new location is always exciting.

Royal Porthcawl has hosted several prestigious events in the past, including the Walker Cup, Curtis Cup, and the Senior Open. However, this will be the first time it welcomes a women’s Major championship.