Ko working with coach Oh to remedy weaknesses in putting
AUCKLAND: Lydia Ko’s coach has made a frank admission as the former world No 1 prepares to return to the LPGA Tour: they have neglected her putting.
Ko lines up in the Founders Cup in Phoenix Arizona tomorrow having not played this month. Instead, she has been spending time honing her game with coach Ted Oh.
Ko (21) has endured a frustrating start to the season, with an eighthplaced finish in her first tournament of the year followed by a missed cut at the Australian Women’s Open and a tie for 19th and a tie for 11th in her last two starts in Thailand and Singapore.
Oh, who has coached Ko since the start of last season, has revealed while her game from tee to green is in great shape, the emphasis on the long game has come at the expense of putting, and they have been working hard to address that.
‘‘This past year we have been focusing so much on the long game that we didn’t dedicate ourselves to the putting and we just assumed it would stay good,’’ Oh said.
‘‘But now we are focusing so much more on practising putting, because three putts are killing our momentum and missing easy birdie putts are killing our momentum.
‘‘Lydia’s swing is working well, her long game is good and right now her focus is on putting, which used to be a strength before. She is stroking the ball really good but it is not drop ping,’’ he added.
Ko has tried a new model of putter from PXG this year, and has also had to adjust to new rules preventing caddies from lining up putts.
This week’s tournament is played on one of the longer courses on tour and Oh believed Ko could be a strong contender.— NZME