MIZUHO AMERICAS OPEN

May 7, 2026

Lydia Ko

Mountain Ridge Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Lydia Ko after her first round at the Mizuho Americas Open. Great round from you in some tough conditions. Just take us through the round, especially the eagle on 13.

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I actually putted really well, which was a nice change. I haven't putted well since I shot 60, and that day I had a new putter and this week I have a new putter.

I don't know if it's like a one-off honeymoon phase, but I'll take it regardless. You know, the greens are very undulating and tough, so I feel like you need to be really smart in where you leave your second shots.

For the most parts, I feel like I played quite smart, which is an extra bonus around a golf course like this.

Q. We've heard from everyone all day the greens are very, very tricky. What was the key to attacking those?

LYDIA KO: I think you just have to know which side is a better side to miss. If you are in between clubs, if short is better, erring more on the shorter club and if you can be aggressive, try and take advantage of that.

There are some putts you're aiming so far out that hole is not even in your peripheral vision anymore. It reminds me a little bit of Lancaster Country Club where we played the U.S. Women's Open a couple years ago. That was some of the slopiest and fastest greens I had played on. I did not putt well there. This is a good start.

I think sometimes I'm just not going to put myself in good positions and I have to take my medicine and work my way from there.

Q. Besides being a one-off honeymoon, anything in particular you've been working on with the putter to improve that?

LYDIA KO: I've been doing a lot of hard work with my putting coach, Chris, and my swing coach, Holton, as well. I feel like the whole team has been trying to dial it in. I've been calling Paul Vizanko at Scotty Cameron quite frequently this past few weeks. I feel bad that he's almost been like on my speed dial, but between him and Tom who is also on the road, I think we're slowly dialing it in.

At the end of the day, I think there is a saying that if you're putting well you could almost putt with a broomstick, as in literally a broomstick. So I think it's sometimes between my ears and you have to see those putts go in to kind of get that momentum, and I think that's what happened today.

But regardless, it was a pretty big change having a putter with a completely different hosel. I have a plumber's neck and I haven't played a plumber's neck putter since 2018 and early 2019.

So it's visually very different, but I feel like even though it might take time for me to get used to the new putt experience new look, I thought that in the long run it's beneficial, and to see a lot of the hard work kind of take off on a tricky golf course like this is really rewarding.

Q. You played in all iterations of this event; year four. How cool has it been to see this tournament evolve and keep growing in terms of bringing in the juniors and all that. How cool has it been to see all that?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think this event is more than just a golf tournament. The sponsors, Mizuho, have done a lot in growing the game and they've been adding different I think events outside of just the four days of golf that we play.

A lot of the clients seem like they have a great time returning to here, and even to this new location for this event.

What Michelle has done by having the AJGA players I think is a really good opportunity and really good exposure for them. I wish that when I was a junior I had these kind of opportunities as well. So to kind of play alongside them on the weekend, it has been great. They're so good. It's hard to believe that some of them are literally only like 14, 15 and they hit it just as far as me or further than me. You know, the finesse that they have, you wouldn't think they're in their mid to early teens.

So, yeah, it's a learning opportunity for me and it's I think the sponsors and Excel, they do a really good job bringing a lot of generations together and kind of grow the whole game of golf.