Lydia Ko pledges this week’s earnings to Nepal earthquake relief because Lydia Ko is awesome | Golf News and Tour Information [Video]

As if we needed another reason to root for Lydia Ko, the LPGA Tour phenom provided one on Wednesday.

Nepal was devastated by Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake and its aftershocks, which have left thousands dead and even more in need of aid. One of the country’s only golf courses has been transformed into a refugee camp, but there’s so much more help needed. Ko, who turned 18 on Friday, is playing in the North Texas Shootout this week after earning $300,000 for her victory at the Swinging Skirts Classic on Sunday.

Ko is not the first golfer to pledge his/her earnings to provide help for dealing with a natural disaster. In 2011, Ryo Ishikawa gave away his entire season’s earnings — plus an additional $1,200 for each birdie he made — for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.

There have been plenty of generous other golfers, but Ko is the first to step up this week. …