Lydia Ko and Charley Hull are among the stars in LPGA Tour action this week at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown.
New Korea Country Club in the Republic of Korea hosts the International Crown, where eight teams are fighting it out for the trophy.
And playing together in their opening match at the biennial team competition were LPGA Tour stars Ko and Hull, who are representing Team World.
The pair met Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Rio Takeda first, tying the match to each earn half a point for their sides.
Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu complete the World Team, with that pairing winning their opener 2&1 over Ayaka Furue and Mao Saigo.
Lydia Ko shares what her relationship is really like with Charley Hull
Ko and Hull spoke to the media after their match, where their professional relationship came to light.
Discussing their team spirit, the English star said: “Yeah, it was pretty chilled out there. It was good. It was nice.
“I kind of knew Lydia was going to make the putt on the last because she had an up-and-down challenge on the last hole yesterday, an impossible up-and-down, and you got up-and-down and won 200 bucks from your caddie, so that was an easy putt compared to yesterday.”
Ko explained: “$200. I hit a flier out of the rough, and I had like an impossible chip shot from behind the green yesterday, and I asked Paul, my caddie, what will you give me if I make up-and-down, and he said $100, and then he said, no, I’ll give you 200. Then I made up-and-down, so it was a great way to end our practice session.
“I’ve known Charley for a really long time, and obviously we’ve never played in this kind of format together, but I think just knowing the person obviously makes it a little bit easier out there.”
Hull then continued: “I was actually talking yesterday about how we played back in 2013 together, when we were like the freshmen on Tour and stuff, and now we’re…”
Interjecting, New Zealand icon Ko said: “We’re older.”
And when asked if they were freshmen together, Ko said: “I think it was pretty close,” with Hull noting: “And we played when we were both amateurs. We were getting invites into pro events and we played a few times together as well.”
Ko added: “We were talking about the time I went over for the British Am and I think we both got a lot of invites to play LET as well so that’s where we first met.
“To kind of see how far we’ve come from being amateurs to here and winning on Tour and becoming teammates is honestly really cool. I think it’s just a great start to the week.”
What Lydia Ko and Charley Hull learned about each other after playing together
Ko and Hull are, of course, usually rivals on the LPGA Tour, where they have each earned fantastic success.
The former is an LPGA Hall of Famer, and has claimed three major championship wins during her stunning career.
And the latter is a three-time LPGA Tour winner, with seven Solheim Cup appearances for Team Europe on her CV.
Asked if they learned anything as partners, Hull replied: “Not really,” with Ko responding: “I don’t think anything new.
“Charley is so impressive. The strength she has, with the distance off the tee but also the creativity and the shots she can play is always something that I’ve been very impressed with.
“I just love her creativity and versatility. On a golf course like this, I think it is obviously a little bit more one-dimensional. You’re not having to curve as many shots and all that.”
Hull then opened up: “Lydia is so clutch under pressure, it was kind of like… like the last two holes it was just pure Lydia and I’m glad I wasn’t playing against her, I was playing with her.”
The pair are reuniting on day two of the tournament, with Ko and Hull taking on Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi.
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