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ANALYSIS: Lydia Ko should break her winning drought in 2021.
It has been 32 months since New Zealand’s best golfer won a tournament. Her most recent attempt to break that sterile streak came to an end when she failed in the final round of the US Women’s Open on Tuesday morning (New Zealand time).
Ko’s five out of 76 was another disappointing finish for the 23-year-old, who will end her shortened 2020 LPGA season at the CME Group Tour Championship, which began with a disappointing round on Friday (New Zealand time).
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Lydia Ko was the youngest player to become number one in the world, and at age 19, she had two major championship trophies.
But between this year’s missed opportunities and wayward play there were enough signs to suggest that once-dominant Ko may be a winner again.
READ MORE:
* Ko escapes at the US Open
* Top-five finish for Ko
Working with new coach Sean Foley, Ko has made some notable improvements to his game while maintaining his previous strengths and has put together a number of results that may pale in comparison to his prime, but outline that he should compete enough for a full season. in 2021.
In 11 tournaments since July, and in difficult conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ko has had seven top-15 finishes.
The more that is disputed, the better chance you have of finding your best shape when it counts most.
That proved costly for Ko this year: In the last round in Houston on Tuesday, with the leaders struggling, Ko was only able to find six of 14 fairways with his driver, and thus only nine of 18 greens in regulation, while taking 32 putts.
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Sean Foley has helped make some notable improvements to Lydia Ko’s game.
That wasn’t as painful as his biggest chance to win that evaporated in early August when he blew a five-shot lead with six holes to play at the Marathon Classic in Ohio.
A horrific double-bogey final hole secured a 73, after rounds of 64, 65 and 68. It cost him the title and possibly inflicted some mental damage.
Foley has helped diminutive Ko add an extra thirty feet to her drives off the tee. It may not sound like much, but it is significant, as it allows you to play a shorter, more precise club towards the green.
Ko has added muscle to her build and clubhead speed to her swing that has seen her jump from 152 ° in the average driving distance (224.5 meters) on the LPGA Tour last year to 52nd place by now reaching 233.1 meters. .
However, that has led to a drop in driving precision, from 102 to 120, and that’s what Ko and Foley will need to fix the most for her to consistently be among the leaders.
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Lydia Ko has added muscle to her clubhead build and speed to her swing that has seen her jump from 152nd in average driving distance on the LPGA Tour last year to 52nd this year.
“The goal was to get her to understand her swing, how it works, why it works, and get her to hit that baby fade,” Foley told Golf Digest before the US Open what his initial goals were when he was employed by Ko.
That extra distance may have helped Ko also make a notable climb in the greens in regulation (GIR) stats, from 96 to 36 this year.
Most importantly, Ko is still an exceptional putter.
Her average putt per GIR jumped in line with her rise in GIR from 23rd to 5th, while her overall putting average placed her sixth in the rankings, after being seventh last year.
So it looks like there will be plenty of opportunities next season for Ko to compete. If you can excel on a field with wide fairways, forgiving rough, continue to play well, and be close to your best in the final round, that’s a recipe that can put you back in first place.
Foley said his other goal since becoming Ko’s swing coach earlier this year was to get her to enjoy the game and its creativity again.
“She is so creative. She is brilliant. But here was a girl who was watching videos and numbers. That’s not her, ”he told Golf Digest.
Gregory Shamus / Getty Images
Lydia Ko is still an excellent putter.
Ko admitted that he was trying hard not to over-analyze every swing in search of perfection.
“When we started, I had 50 questions a day,” Foley said. “No questions left. In 5 and a half months together, he has seen his swing twice. He used to videotape every take.”
It is understandable why Ko is deeply searching to recapture past glories, because they were so glorious.
At 15, she was the youngest player to win on the LPGA Tour.
She became the youngest player to become number one in the world at just 17 years old. Just six months later she became the youngest woman to win a major championship. At 19, he had two major championship trophies and the only debate was how many he would collect throughout his career.
As we prepare for the 2021 season, that number remains two.
“Maybe I’ll be the best in the world again, maybe not,” Foley said.
But he told Newshub this week that he likes his chances of getting back to the top.
“I think everything is in a great place. I think 2021 is going to be an incredible year. “
