Ko is lost - veteran’s verdict on struggling Kiwi
Veteran golfer Cristie Kerr played two rounds of golf with Lydia Ko in Phoenix and the verdict wasn’t pretty.
‘‘Her game’s not in good shape,’’ two-time major winner Kerr told the Golf Channel. ‘‘She seemed a little lost.’’
Ko missed the cut, by four shots, for just the fifth time in 120 starts but, worryingly, for the fourth time in her last 26 tournaments.
The 20-year-old made another welldocumented coaching change in the offseason, from Gary Gilchrist to Ted Oh, and so far the results aren’t encouraging.
Any coaching change takes some time to bed in but Ko is making things harder on herself with the constant tinkering, a point
"Her game's not in good shape." Cristie Kerr
she made herself following the missed cut.
‘‘It always takes time to get used to things,’’ Ko told reporters. ‘‘By the end of last year, I was playing solid. I’m hoping it won’t take as much time this year.’’
Ko is now outside the top 100 in driving distance, accuracy and greens hit. The first is no surprise as she has always been a short-hitter by LPGA Tour standards but the other two are shocks.
She has built her success around playing from the short grass and hitting pin-point irons. Without those she is relying solely on her short game to save her. Last weekend it didn’t.
‘‘It seemed like I couldn’t hole a single putt,’’ she told reporters.
‘‘When I missed greens, I just wasn’t getting up and down. When I got a birdie opportunity, I wasn’t able to hole it.’’
Ko’s world ranking is in freefall with the Kiwi down to No 15. Even that seems high with her CME ranking of 33rd a better reflection of her recent form.
Ko is hoping to draw on good memories as she returns to the Kia Classic this week, which she won in 2016 the week before claiming her second major title.
‘‘This is my favourite stretch of events ... I love the West Coast swing. Hopefully, I’ll make more putts next week.’’
However, it will take more than making putts for Ko, who turns 21 on Saturday, to claim her first win in 20 months.