From a Hall of Fame induction to $40,000 per year: Here is what Lydia Ko gets for winning gold at the Paris Olympics
Lydia Ko won gold in the golf event at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 10-under-par score, two strokes ahead of Germany's Esther Henseleit. The result added glory to the New Zealander's already illustrious sporting career.
The victory at Le Golf National earned Lydia Ko automatic induction into the super-exclusive LPGA Hall of Fame. Ko arrived in Paris with 26 of the 27 points needed to be inducted, and the gold medal gave her the missing point.
In addition, the New Zealand Olympic Committee stipulates that Olympic champions receive an annual bonus of $40,000 until the next Olympic Games. Ko will get it every year until 2028.
The gold medal also earned her an invitation to the 2024 AIG Women's Open, scheduled to be played in a few weeks, as well as the 2025 US Women's Open. These are two exemptions that the Kiwi did not explicitly need as she was already qualified in several categories.
So far, there is no confirmation that the other three LPGA Tour majors will extend invitations to the Olympic champion. However, Ko has qualified for all of these tournaments in 2025.
Her victory in Olympic golf at Paris 2024 was historic. The Kiwi became the only golfer in the history of the sport to win three Olympic medals.
This Olympic record of Ko includes one medal of each color. No other golfer, male or female, has come close to that feat.
A look at Lydia Ko's performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
From the outset, Ko was one of the leading contenders for the women's golf title at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Ko showed great consistency in her game on a challenging Albatross course at Le Golf National.
Ko played the first round with four birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey for a score of even par. She improved significantly in the second, carding six birdies and a bogey to fall to five under par.
On the so-called "Moving Day", the New Zealander climbed to the top of the leaderboard with six birdies and two bogeys (4 under), tied at the time with Switzerland's Morgane Metraux.
Metraux did not have a good fourth round, leaving Ko alone in first place. Germany's Esther Henseleit emerged as her main rival thanks to a final round of 6 under.
Ko enjoyed a five-shot lead during the fourth round, but lost ground with a double bogey on the 13th. She played the final five holes with a one-shot lead while Henseleit was waiting in the clubhouse.
However, Ko used all her experience to par the 14th through the 17th and cap her brilliant performance with a birdie on the 18th.