Golfer Lydia Ko this morning began her defense of the Evian Championship, the LPGA's fifth and final major of the season, and the title sponsor is recasting Ko "with a baby-lookalike photo as part of its 'Live Young' campaign," according to Randall Mell of GOLFCHANNEL.com. Photos of the computer-generated baby Ko "are featured" around the tournament and will appear on "seven million bottles of Evian water being shipped around the world every day for the next two months." In addition to the title sponsorship of the event, Evian has a personal deal with Ko (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 9/14). The baby in the image is "holding a pink golf driver and wearing a pink top which includes the ANZ logo, one of Ko's sponsors." Baby Ko "also had a Callaway cap" (NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 9/15).
WATER WORLD: GOLFWEEK's Beth Ann Nichols wrote Ko yesterday "did her part to inject the title sponsor into an answer about her stamina after an exhausting stretch of big events." Ko took several days off "after three consecutive weeks of tournaments, including the Olympics." She was in France on Saturday "visiting Evian's factory." Ko yesterday said, "It's just rainwater from 15 years ago. Who would have known that we're actually drinking rainwater from 2000-2001?" (GOLFWEEK.com, 9/14).
