EAGER TO LEARN: Lydia Ko will study psychology in tandem with her golf career.
It's distance learning far removed from calculating yardages and making it from tee to green, though Lydia Ko is adopting the same precise approach to life after golf.
New Zealand's world No 1 soon starts studying psychology via correspondence with Seoul's Korea University, one of her native country's most prestigious academic institutions. Her sport, of course, will continue to take precedence for the 17-year-old, just as play came before work while she was an honours student at Albany's Pinehurst School.
But the teenager, who plans to retire once she turns 30, has no intention of concentrating exclusively on cementing her place among golf's elite.
She held talks with the university late last year and was accepted, meaning the LPGA Rookie of the Year starts her "freshman" year next month.
"That's a whole new thing, so that's going to be exciting," she said, before completing her preparations for tomorrow's opening round of the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
Ko already has a supply of text books to lug about and although she's unlikely to ever actually meet her classmates in person, it will still be a valuable tertiary experience.
"Psychology is something I've always been interested in. It's something I could connect with (through) golf and sport," Ko explained.
She said while sports psychology may be beneficial, the studies were not intended to provide her with a mental edge down the stretch.
"There are so many varieties of psychology - there's the biology part, there's treatment. There's so many things I didn't realise (about it)," she said, revealing crime-based television shows piqued her interest.
"I like to watch Criminal Minds and that kind of stuff. Maybe it'll help me figure out what they're thinking," said Ko, who admitted she might lag behind her peers come graduation time.
"As long as I feel like I've learned something and I can get my degree, that's the most important part."
Ko, who is now based at ChampionsGate in Orlando, Florida - near Walt Disney World - is also intending to obtain her drivers' licence after joking that a golf cart was still the extent of her experience as a motorist.
"I need to go to a driving school .... I'll warn you guys if I'm on the road," she grinned.
Meanwhile, on a serious note, Ko said although golf was her priority she was confident she still had an appropriate balance between life as a professional sportswoman and a typical teen.
"A lot of my friends aren't golfers. Some of them are other athletes or they're going to university this year.
"The cool think about that is they don't know much about golf so they kind of treat as I'm just another school teenager.
"My best friend has never played a proper game of golf. The first time time she hit a golf ball was at a driving range I took her to. In that way they don't treat me that differently - and I like it."
- Stuff
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