Changes aside, Ko still knows how to win
World No. 1 defends her title in first LPGA major of the season
She looks the same. Smiles a lot. Still quick with a laugh. And she still is the No. 1 player in the world.
But this is not the same Lydia Ko who won last year’s ANA Inspiration, taking the LPGA tour’s first major of the season with a spectacular kick-in birdie on the 72nd hole to win by one stroke.
No, there’s something different about Ko as she begins defense of that major title Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., against the likes of fellow major winners Ariya Jutanugarn, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson, So Yeon Ryu, Shanshan Feng, Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie.
Make that a lot of something different.
The winner of two majors and 19 pro titles worldwide — that’s one for every year the New Zealander has lived — has a new coach, a new swing, a new
caddie and new equipment. Yes, the winner of four tournaments last year, the No. 1 player in the world, went all Autobot with her transformation in the offseason.
“I know some people have concerns with all the changes at the same time,” Ko said in a phone call. “It was just a coincidence that I changed everything at the same time. I wasn’t planning on it. They just happened. I wanted to see what would be better for my game going forward. I’m not just looking to see what happens right now, but I’m looking at the future. ...
“I’ve been more excited than worried. I wanted to learn more about my swing, to understand it, so in the future I can fix something if it needs fixing. No matter what ranked player you are, there is always something you can get better at. These are positive changes.”
The changes, however, haven’t taken hold just yet. After winning four times in the first seven months last year, she hasn’t added to her victory total, a winless span that seems like an eternity for the prolific winner. And last week in the Kia Classic, which she won in 2016, she missed the second cut of her career in 95 starts.
But Ko said everything is going in the right direction, including her pursuit of more consistency with her ball striking, especially with her driver. She’s getting more confident and comfortable with her new PXG clubs, new caddie, Gary Matthews, who used to loop for Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim, and new coach, Gary Gilchrist. “It’s very close,” Ko said. Gilchrist thinks it might take another couple of months.
“She was fighting the swing a lot and wasn’t playing her own game,” said Gilchrist, who began working with Ko in January. “Winning on any tour isn’t easy. But the big thing for her, her big- gest challenge, is that now being No. 1 in the world, she’s like a target. Everyone is working to beat her. So she has to challenge herself to prepare for that.
“She’s still the No. 1 player in the world, so she’s mentally very strong. Her strength is managing her game around the course. I’m helping to support the process and keep it simple. … If she starts to putt really well again, and she changed putters in Singapore, even if you don’t have your A game, if you putt well, you can manage your game. She has confidence with her putter.”
One thing Ko doesn’t do is panic. Last year she capped her victory in the ANA with the traditional leap into Poppie’s Pond by the 18th green. Her recent form suggests a repeat isn’t likely.
But Ko knows how to win. She is the youngest to win an LPGA event, the youngest in LPGA history to win a major, the youngest to win two majors, the youngest to reach 10 LPGA titles, the youngest to be No. 1. She has one of the best short games on tour. She is one of the best putters on tour. And no matter how many changes she makes, Ko is still Ko.
“I like everything we’ve been doing,” she said. “Hopefully a win is coming soon.”