Phil Mickelson gives Lydia Ko advice on turning pro, tells her to avoid the tax-heavy states

The LPGA might not get enough play over the year despite the fact that the women are incredibly talented and a ton of fun to watch, but eyes should turn to the CME Group Titleholders this week as Lydia Ko will play her first tournament as a professional.

Ko, just 16-years-old, has already won four professional tournaments including two LPGA events, but this week in Florida will be the first time she tees it up and gets to keep whatever money she earns, and one big name in golf gave the youngster some serious advice.

Phil Mickelson, who earlier this year spoke out about the high taxes he faces in California, told Ko when they were introduced in California to make sure to avoid any of those states with ridiculously high taxes, something Ko is taking to heart considering the places she is thinking about living.

”We’re looking Florida and Texas and a couple other places there’s no income tax,” Ko said. ”Phil mentioned that one of the biggest mistakes was staying after college where the taxes are quite high. So I’m trying to stay in a low place. I don’t have any money yet.”

While Ko might not have any money yet, she definitely has the potential to earn a lot of it and fast. If she had turned pro before trying her hand at the events she has played she would have already earned more than $ 1 million, a ridiculous amount considering she turned 16 in April.

Ko will have a ton of pressure on her as she tees it up in her first professional event, but it seems she knows how to deal with pressure just fine and while this is now her job, I think we can all agree that she will be just fine as a professional and not an amateur.

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Shane Bacon is the editor of Devil Ball Golf and Busted Racquet on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shanebaconblogs@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter at @ShaneBacon!