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Lydia Ko has interview on her celebratory tattoo

Posted April. 22, 2016 07:41,   

Updated April. 22, 2016 07:47

한국어
Lydia Ko, the world’s number 1 female golfer, has a tattoo on her right wrist. The small letters on her hand that read "IV(4)-XXVII(27)-XIV(14)" represents the date April 27 of 2014 when she won her first LPGA tour championship as a professional golfer.

On Wednesday, a day before the opening the Swinging Skirts Classic where she won her first championship two years ago, Ko had an interview including questions about her tattoo at the private par-72 Lake Merced Golf Club. If she wins this time, it will be the third consecutive championship of the same tournament.

“I got my tattoo because i want to commemorate my first championship and I won it in the presence of all my families including my father who rarely comes to watch my game,” Lydia Ko said with a laugh. “Not sure if I will be getting another tattoo, but who knows if I will decide to have a dragon on my back.”

If she defends the title this time, she will become the 10th female golfer who will have won the third consecutive championship of a LPGA tournament.

Indeed, it is hard to find any golfer wearing tattoos. Tattoos are almost tabooed as the sport stresses manners and formality. In saunas at Korean golf courses, one can often find a notice that bans the entrance of a person who has tattoos on his body. So normally golfers have their tattoos on body parts that can be covered by the clothes rather than exposed ones.

As it happens, Danny Willett (England), who won a dramatic victory in Masters 2016, also has a tattoo shaped like the number eight under his right arm. As Danny Willett wears the "green jacket" following Lydia Ko, who won the ANA inspiration trophy early this season, tattoo has become the common denominator binding the male and female golfers together who have own the first major tournaments this season.

In 2014, Bubba Watson, the left-handed power swinger, had the name of his wife "Angie" engraved in his ring finger for 60 dollars to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Rickie Fowler, the recalcitrant golfer often seen in bright-colored outfits, has a Chinese-letter tattoo on the inside of his left bicep that reads "田中豊," the name of his Japanese grandfather.



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