[Photo: Luke Walker]
Women’s world No.5 Lydia Ko has enough to worry about when preparing for a golf tournament, but her dog, Kai, is no longer one of them because she’s had her household pet undergo extensive training.
Her dog Kai, a Shiba Inu who is almost 2 years old, has benefited from training. And that’s a good thing around these parts at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
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“[We’ve] been doing a lot of training, service dog training as well. I’m proud to say he’s a different dog for the better,” New Zealander Ko said in a press conference. “I don’t have to worry about him running away. If he does make a run for it, his recall is good, so he comes. Thank goodness I don’t have to—knock on wood—worry about him getting eaten alive by gators.”
Oh my.
Kai has had a penchant for running off and being hard to catch. There was a situation at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January. How many of the world’s best golfers did it take to catch him? Three!
“He ran away at HGV this year and Minjee [Lee], Megan [Khang], and I were trying to chase him down,” Ko said. “Minjee brought him one of his favourite toys and a snack and Megan and I were trying to corner him. Luckily it was within the gates of where we live so it’s easy. The training, he’s just been doing a lot of training, and it really has helped. So we can all learn and get better.”
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There is no known video of the Kai chase, but that undoubtedly would’ve gone viral.
“Safe to say Megan was very sweaty after we caught Kai,” Ko said. “So, I felt really bad because it was the day before the event.”
Kai has been a great addition for Ko and her husband, Jun Chung. A trial run into parenthood, if you will.
“I think his genetics is crazy. I have learned that dog training is very expensive, so I can only imagine what it is for kids,” Ko said. “They do say that dogs are a good steppingstone for having kids, so I’m definitely learning in the monetary standpoint.
“He’s honestly really great. He’s still young … so he has his moments. But his training has been great, and I think it gives us the flexibility to be together more and for him to be there and support me.”
