Lydia Ko's recently ousted caddie Gary Matthews has hit back at the Kiwi world No.1 after becoming the latest in a growing list of casualties from her camp.
Matthews was fired after just nine outings with Ko following the discarding of previous caddie Jason Hamilton in October of 2016, telling Golf Digest that the 19-year-old "needs to wake up".
"In all honesty, there is no communication in the whole camp. You never know anything or are told anything," said Matthews.
The South African received a call from her agent Michael Yim after her poor showing in Palm Springs advising him they'd decided to part ways, yet insisting he still remain on board for the upcoming LPGA event in Hawaii.
Ko proceeded to have one of her better outings of the year at that event, finishing in a tie for second.
"I'm like well, never in 19 years have I been fired, and I'm still working for the person. What was so strange for me, we worked unbelievably well in Hawaii. The communication and everything was just phenomenal."
Matthews maintained the Korean-born Kiwi was a "lovely person" but needed to reassess her priorities when it comes to caddies.
"I wish her the best, but she’s gone through so many caddies, she needs to wake up on caddie-player relationships, otherwise she’ll just keep doing it."
Based out of Dallas, Matthews is now pursuing a role with Australian Minjee-Lee but remains perplexed regarding the conclusion of their professional relationship.
"I was like, 'This is a bit strange; I didn't think I did that bad of a job.'"
Ko has come under fire in the past for questionable dealings with her team members, with former instructor David Leadbetter accusing her parents of having an excessive amount of influence on her career.
She's yet to appoint a new caddie.
Newshub.
