Coach blames Ko’s parents

One of Lydia Ko’s former coaches has pinned the blame on the golfer’s parents for her sudden decline, saying their ‘‘unbelievable ignorance’’ has turned a world No.1 into an ‘‘ordinary’’ player.

Speaking to Radio Sport in the wake of Ko’s horror showing at the British Open at the weekend, David Leadbetter was extremely critical of her parents’ influence on her career and he implored them to ‘‘let her go and do her thing’’.

‘‘It really is a very sad situation to observe,’’ Leadbetter told Radio Sport. ‘‘Her team have to be thinking that they have made some huge mistakes taking an unbelievably talented player and turning her into ordinary.

‘‘I hope she gets it back but restoring confidence is never the easiest thing to do. Her parents have a lot to answer for – a case of unbelievable ignorance.

‘‘I’m angry, I’m sad because to me I know what she’s capable of doing. And to see her play like this, it’s just very sad to see.’’

After missing the cut at the British Open by a whopping 10 shots, Ko has now slipped to No 23 in the world.

‘‘I think her parents need to sort of let her go and do her thing. She’s 21-22 years of age now. She could control her own career. She should know what’s best for her,’’ he said.

‘‘She’s not a 12-year-old anymore. So they need to let her go, let her fly, let her leave the nest so to speak and find her own way. If she can do that, I mean yeah we could see Lydia back.’’

Leadbetter also suggested that the former world No.1 would benefit from some time away from the sport.

‘‘My advice would be look to take a break right now. She doesn’t need to play for the rest of the year. Just get her head together, relax, get away from the game and rethink this whole thing. There’s probably a lot of factors going on here.

‘‘Sometimes you’ve got to take a complete break from the game, get your mind rested, get your body rested and then [come back] and play next year.’’

Stuff has approached Ko’s management company for comment.