It’s the putt-ing right that counts
The club that once carried Lydia Ko is now betraying her.
Ko heads into the season’s first major as the defending champion on the back of a rare missed cut at the Kia Classic, when her putter let her down badly on the closing holes.
But that’s nothing new this season with the world No 1 struggling to capitalise on chances created by her improved ballstriking.
However, the 19-year-old says she will have no excuses if her balky putter lets her down this week at the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California, which begins today.
‘‘I actually hit my drivers really well [at the Kia Classic],’’ she said this week.
‘‘You know, irons weren’t fantastic but they weren’t far off. But I was just struggling with the putter. It’s been very on and off but mostly not on the past few weeks with the putter.
‘‘I’ve been trying to work a little bit more here but you know, the greens are so pure here, I’ve got nothing to blame. So it’s all me here this week.’’
Players often find that when one part of their game comes good, another leaves them. So it has proved for Ko, who was saved by her putter over the second half of last season as her ball-striking deserted her.
But, as her ball-striking returns under the guidance of new coach Gary Gilchrist, her putter has gone cold.
Her hope will be that it’s simply a trade-off because of the time devoted to grooving a new swing but there is always the worry that it is a more permanent problem.
Ko has slipped from first in average putts per round last year (28.31) to 87th this season with 29.89. But the bigger worry than the numbers was the tentativeness with which she left putts short as she fought to make the cut last week.
Her putting was her advantage over big-hitting rival Ariya Jutanugarn but that is no longer the case with the Thai star 15th this year.
Ko’s grip on the No 1 ranking is getting shakier by the week with Jutanugarn inching ever closer. A win this weekend, with Ko finishing fifth or worse, would see her take the Kiwi’s crown as the world’s best female golfer.
However, it has been clear for the past six months that Jutanugarn is the best player even if the rankings have yet to reflect that.
Jutanugarn handed last year’s tournament to Ko with bogeys on her three closing holes, but the 21-year-old is a different player now and the course suits her better than it does Ko.
Although Ko is also a different driver this season. She is 10th in finding fairways at 87.5 per cent, a huge jump from last year’s 70.9 per cent. That is why she is happy to see the thick rough at Mission Hills Country Club.
‘‘As long as I’m hitting it on the fairways, thick is fine. And if I do hit it in the rough, maybe get a lucky lie and it will be OK.
‘‘But at a major championship, to have it at this length, I think is good. It just also means you have to be creative, where if you do end up in the rough, are you going to lay up or are you going to go for it? It just makes the player think a little bit.’’
Ko is paired with Brittany Lincicome and will tee off at 9.36am today.