While Cristie Kerr was earning her 19th LPGA Tour event win at last week’s LPGA Lotte Championship after a winless drought dating back to November 2015, world No. 1 Lydia Ko was finishing up her final round with caddie Gary Matthews.
Lydia Ko fires another caddie
Lydia Ko’s most recent caddie, Gary Matthews, made it through nine events before getting the heave-ho from the world No. 1.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Ko, who goes through caddies like most golfers go through socks, fired Matthews after her T2 finish at the Lotte Championship. The move was just the latest shakeup in a series of changes to Ko’s entourage.
Ko gave Matthews his walking papers after the two teamed up for a mere nine tournaments. It was the most recent upheaval among those working for Ko, who ditched longtime swing coach David Leadbetter in December, changed from Callaway to PXG golf clubs in January, and fired caddie Jason Hamilton in October after the duo had won 10 tour events, including two major championships.
As an LPGA rookie, Ko tried out seven other loopers prior to hiring Hamilton. She also took some heat for dumping her first coach, Guy Wilson, in favor of Leadbetter back in 2013.
Ko has become notorious for hiring and firing caddies. She even joked about it in her 2014 Rookie of the Year acceptance speech.
“This is the funny part, you see,” she quipped. “I want to thank Scott, Mark, Steve, Steve, Domingo, Fluff, Greg, Jason.”
Guess she’ll have to add Matthews — who retweeted several supportive messages after he received the pink slip — to that ever-expanding roster.
In addition to the T2 at the Lotte, Matthews helped Ko earn four top-10 finishes this season, though the 14-time tour winner has not prevailed in an event since July. And while she has owned the top spot in the Rolex Rankings for 78 straight weeks, her lead over second-ranked So Yeon Ryu and No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn is rapidly shrinking.
It’s unclear who will be on Ko’s bag for next week’s Volunteers of America Texas Shootout.
See More:
