Lydia Ko had doubts about her game. She never felt more proud of her climb back to the top

Lydia Ko had the Olympic gold medal virtually wrapped up when she had a conversation with herself walking up the 18th fairway at Le Golf National that surprised her.

“The thing I told myself walking down the 18th was, ‘I’m so proud of myself.' And I never say that to me," Ko said. "I think it's quite embarrassing to say that because it feels a little bit narcissistic. But I was really proud for overcoming my own doubts. It doesn't matter what the media says about me or what some spectator says.

“The scariest one is what goes in between your ears. And it's the hardest one to clear out.”

This had nothing to do with her gold medal performance, a dream week in Paris because the victory gave her the final point she needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Ko had such a rough time in 2023 that self-doubts became greater than ever.

She considers 2022 among her best years, with three wins and finishing the year at No. 1 in the world and getting married. And the 27-year-old Kiwi felt 2023 was among her worst, when she failed to reach the CME Group Tour Championship.

“It's crazy, but that's what golf can do to you,” Ko said. “It's much more of a roller coaster than any other sport. Not many elite athletes in other sports go from their highest to their lowest unless there's injuries involved. I was very healthy during my worst golf."

She spoke Monday to promote the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, where her victory a year go sent her toward a year she won't forget. She's had more productive seasons, but Olympic gold and winning at St. Andrews are tough to top.

The turnaround started by teaming with Jason Day to win the Grant Thornton Invitational, an indication she was headed in the right direction. Winning alone at Lake Nona the following month to start the new season was even better. But she said it was a lot to overcome.

“Last year I had a conversation with my sister after missing my billionth cut at the Portland Classic,” she said with a laugh. "I remember I was having Texas barbecue and crying so much I wasn't sure what this barbecue tasted like. I had no idea if I was going to win again. I had lost my complete sense of direction. And it sucks.

“I'm so proud of overcoming my own doubts and my own fears and peaking at the pinnacle moments of my 11 years,” she said. “That's what I'm always going to remember. Even next year, or whatever lies ahead, if I do have spells where things don't go my way, I know now for sure that no matter how low it gets, I can overcome that.”

She should be proud of herself.

Adios Las Vegas

Las Vegas is not part of the PGA Tour schedule for the first time since 1983.

The PGA Tour released its FedEx Cup Fall schedule on Tuesday, featuring seven tournaments in what should be a tense race for players to finish in the top 100 to keep full cards. It's the same schedule as this year, minus Las Vegas.

Shriners Children's Hospital ended its title sponsorship this year.

“It's a great tour stop. We definitely want to return and will return,” said Tyler Dennis, president of the PGA Tour.

Dennis pointed to momentum with the Black Desert Championship in Utah in its second year, and new title sponsor in Japan for the Baycurrent Classic, which will move closer to Tokyo at Yokohama Country Club.

Fields are likely to be beefed up under the first year of sweeping eligibility changes. This year, Joel Dahmen had to make a 6-foot par putt to make the cut and close with a 64 to stay just inside the top 125. For 2025, only the top 100 get full status.

“Eligibility changes are going to play heavily into next fall,” Dennis said.

The fall starts with the Procore Championship in Napa, California, takes a two-week break (one week for the Ryder Cup), then goes from Mississippi to Japan. After another one-week break, the tour goes to Utah, takes a week off, and then finishes in Mexico, Bermuda and Sea Island.

The Baycurrent Classic spot on the schedule aims to avoid clashes. The tour's Japan event this year was the same week as the European tour's South Korea tournament. The Japan Open also typically is held in October.

The Las Vegas Invitational began in 1983 and for years was among the biggest purses.

The DJ 500 index

Dustin Johnson is the latest former No. 1 player to whom the Official World Golf Ranking means nothing now that he is with LIV Golf.

He fell out of the top 500 in the world this week for the first time in nearly 17 years.

Johnson has played only one tournament outside the four majors since the PGA Tour suspended him for going over to the Saudi-backed rival league. He missed the cut in the Saudi International earlier this month.

Johnson cracked the top 500 in his fourth start on the PGA Tour, a tie for seventh in the 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has spent 135 weeks at No. 1, the third-most behind Tiger Woods and Greg Norman.

Two tournaments, one region

The Qatar Masters is back on the European tour schedule the first full week in February, giving the region plenty of golf that week.

The LIV Golf League opens its fourth season the same week about 360 miles to the west in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Doha Golf Club in Qatar pulled double duty in 2024. It was part of the International swing on the European tour, the fifth of five straight weeks in the Middle East. Rikuya Hoshino of Japan posted a one-shot victory.

Then it was part of the Asian Tour’s International Series in November, won by Peter Uihlein.

Qatar takes the Feb. 6-9 slot on the European tour schedule that had been set aside for “Middle East” when it was released.

Divots

Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Viktor Hovland are the only players to stay in the top 10 in the world the entire year. ... The U.S. Senior Amateur is moving next year to Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio. It was scheduled to be at Biltmore Forest in Asheville, North Carolina, an area hit hard by Hurricane Helene. ... Matthew Jordan of England and Romain Langasque of France have been added to the Team Cup at Abu Dhabi in January, the competition to prime European tour members for the Ryder Cup. ... The year ends with the top 10 in the women's world ranking representing nine countries. Only the Americans (Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu) have more than one player in the top 10. ... Yubin Jang, a 22-year-old South Korean who topped the Korean Tour this year, has signed on to play for LIV Golf next year. He will be part of Kevin Na’s Irons Heads team.

Stat of the week

Scottie Scheffler lost more world ranking points this year (488.5) than double major winner Xander Schauffele earned (444.25).

Final word

“You just don't want it to end. It's like being at a really good concert. You just want there to be a couple more songs, and that's kind of what I felt this week.” — Lanto Griffin after making it through PGA Tour Q-school to keep his card for another year.