Lydia Ko Stops Worrying About Winning, and Starts to Win Again

When she was 17, Lydia Ko became the youngest player, male or female, to reach No. 1.Credit...Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES — Lydia Ko of New Zealand was strolling the beach at Santa Monica on Sunday when she said she was bitten by a sea gull that swooped in and stole the sandwich in her hand. All Ko could do was laugh. Her return to the top 10 in the women’s world golf rankings after more than three years of absence has much to do with her making peace with her ability to control only so much when she is in the sand.

Or on the fairway.

The day before, Ko, a former world No. 1, had ended a three-year title drought at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii, cruising to a seven-stroke…