2005: Bo-Gyung Ko

January 3, 2025

By AHNZ

Asian women have long dominated the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) where competition is fierce and prize-money huge. Even the barriers to entry into the competition circuit itself is greatly prohibitive. A novel way to differentiate a player and open some doors apparently occurred to one Republic of Korea couple, Mr and Mrs Ko. By the time their daughter, Bo-Gyung, aka Lydia Ko, was 5yo they had made their family home “across the road”¹ from Guy Williams’ pro shop and solicited him to train the new apprentice. “She was a seven-year-old in March 2005 when she first came to the attention of the media, for competing in the New Zealand national amateur championships.”²

They had found the right man in Williams to groom the little girl until she became a professional in late 2013. His attitude is that “We’re lucky at the institute to get these people committed to the long journey of becoming an elite golfer and we get them at 5, 6, 7 years of age, even younger…” – Guy Wilson, NZ Herald (August 2024)

It’s amazing to me that “these people” are able to commit to such a long journey before they’re 5. Then again, we live in an era where children can apparently call on institutions of a non-golfing type to have their sex changed or gender “reassigned.” People with Guy Wilson’s vision sometimes become medical surgeons too. If a child not yet grown out of their baby teeth really want to change their life, and their completely disinterested and objective parents can approve and finance the decision, who are any of us to stand in the way of their dreams?

So, the pre-adolescent Bo-Gyung was put through the mill like so many of her country’s kin with a full time job called golf. “My life seems to be like golf, golf, golf, golf…” she observed in 2012. Her competitive edge from the log-jam of Asian talent was New Zealand citizenship and a Kiwi name, Lydia. Under American accent of her new home (Flordia) there’s even a bit of a Kiwi twang, or there used to be. Much of Ko’s education has been via correspondence but for a time she also had some controlled access to school friends. Despite their limited input I have noticed Pinehurst School’s proprietary bragging with a large banner on their front fence along Buch Road, Albany, that Lydia Ko was here.

“Asians are known for having intense work ethics, and because golf may requires a phenomenal amount of practice to achieve relative perfection (nobody is perfect in golf), their culture promotes an certain level of excellence within women’s golf. Furthermore, many Asian families make significant monetary investments in their daughters with a specific ROI in mind.” – Why Do Asian Women Dominate the LPGA?, Next Gen Golf

“Sometimes, I Wish My Knee Would Give, And I Wouldn’t Be Able To Wrestle Anymore. And He Could Forget All About Me.” – The Breakfast Club (1985)

“Her parents have a lot to answer for—a case of unbelievable ignorance,” while discussing the same situation, the former coach additionally disclosed, “They tell her when to go to bed, what to eat, what to wear when to practice and what to practice…They expect her to win every tournament.” – David Leadbetter, Essentially Sports (2024)

Being a sort of Trojan Horse Kiwi, a Paper Kiwi, has opened doors that other foreign families could not push their children through. By clever media management and a willing New Zealand public the Bo-Gyung Ko story has been an amazing commercial success. Even in New Zealand there have been outbreaks of sympathy for child exploitation such as Tangled (2011,) The Hunger Games (2012,) Cuties (2020) and the Free Britney Movement (2019) yet Ko Inc. has caught no flack. Am I the only one still looking for the moral of these stories or did they go over everyone else’s’ heads?

Guy Wilson was discarded like a booster rocket when Ko Inc. decided to go professional in 2013. Unlike Cecilia Cho (and who knows how many other Asian imported golfing prospects?) there was not a reversion to South Korean branding. The Ko family firm, once again, located themselves right to the doorstep of where Bo-Gyang was to place her focus. Lydia would now be managed by high-powered management group IMG. Ko lives in a gated community at Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida having moved there in late 2019.

IMG remind me for all the world like the fictional corporation Vought International from the TV show The Boys. Their IMG Academy in Florida acts as a preparatory boarding school for young talent and probably has dramas just like the TV show and its spinoffs. Again, like the show, IMG manage sports athletes and fashion celebrities as well as run theme parks, live events and produce independent entertainment media. When The Boys and especially Gen V were created it was surely with IMG in mind. It’s more or less The Breakfast Club (1985) kids bonding over their captivity by teachers and parents but with more horror and super powers. None of these shows are likely to have been appreciated or even seen by the people involved in Ko’s career.

My hunch is that as much as Ko’s gladiatorial trainer, Guy Wilson, collaborated with her “willing sacrifice” he also helped. Trainer and prodigy spent thousands of hours together over 11 formative years and Ko must have been picking up more than golf. Wilson’s personality reminds me of Rhys Darby’s character Murray Hewitt as seen in Flight of the Conchords (2007.) Shortly before being ditched Wilson and his future girlfriend/wife Abby created a promo for Ko on TVNZ’s Close Up. To my eye Wilson’s affable wit is masking discomfort about the relationship and Bo-Gyung Ko’s true dedication to it. For her part, Ko is also masking with a coached persona of bubbly care-free smiles, I think, hiding boredom with the golf galley slave life spiced with outright resentments. Outbursts that actually made it to live TV had Ko calling Mr Wilson a liar for say she had a choice, that she was scared of angry disapproval, that she longed for friendship, was sick of Wilson. It’s a testament to Mrs Wilson’s skill as a Legacy Media Priestess that she cut her item into an up-beat piece. There’s a special place in hell. Ref. Bo-Gyung Ko [edited item]

Guy Wilson does present as an essential Generation X Kiwi bloke. Despite his captive audience I’m certain some of his personality imprinted on Lydia and formed her own. In her head and in her heart, without the results-hungry dragon mother’s design, Ko could not have failed to form a Guy Alter Ego for life. It might just be that this sense of humor and Kiwi ability to chill is the great gift that allows Ko to be so successful and not burn out where other women would.

“I’m forever the Asian that loves Korean food – I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and at the same time, I love our pace of life in New Zealand.” – NZ Herald (2024)

“Steve Williams said he felt sorry for Wilson. It was very important for a sportsperson to keep an established core group of people around them, he told TVNZ. “I think it’s an astonishing decision. “He’s just been dumped. There’s no other word for it. That’s a hell of a lot of time of your own personal time you put in and to have no compensation. Obviously, when you turn professional that’s when you get compensated as a coach.”” – ODT (2013)

“One News sports reporter and presenter Abby Scott married professional golf coach Guy Wilson..” – NZ Herald (2016)

“Her mother asked a professional to teach her but was told Lydia was too young. That didn’t stop Lydia…” – Our Wahine

“Chung Jun…Hyundai heir…married at Myeondong Cathedral in Seoul late last year…works at Hyundai Motor Group’s subsidiary office in San Francisco.” – NZ Herald (2023)

“She’s currently in New Zealand on a fleeting visit — her first in nearly three years.” – 1 News (2024)

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