Lydia Ko's best form is not too far away according to swing coach Gary Gilchrist

  • 23/07/2017
Lydia Ko with Gary Gilchrist.
Lydia Ko with Gary Gilchrist. Photo credit: Getty Images

Lydia Ko's coach Gary Gilchrist is urging the world number four to believe in herself as she struggles with playing consistent golf.

The 20-year old is currently in a drought - having not won a tournament since July last year.

That form slump has led to Ko losing her world number one ranking to Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn - who has since surrendered it to Korean, Ryu So-Yeon.

Gilchrist believes Ko's slide is due to internal demons rather than physical or technique driven, telling RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport that Ko is close to her best.

"She needs to trust and believe in what she has right now – she plays well for certain holes and then she starts to struggle," Gilchrist told RadioLIVE.

"For me, she is trying a little too hard to perform. But it's there within her, it's just about getting it out of her.

"She is growing up, she is becoming more of a young woman and I'm sure occasionally her mind is playing games with her.

Gilchrist added, "Overall she takes everything in her stride; she is staying really positive and upbeat.

"She doesn't want to let down her country, having said that I don't think she is far away from playing four great rounds in a row."

On the course, however, Ko is still adjusting to life with a new support team behind her. 

Peter Godfrey and Lydia Ko.
Peter Godfrey and Lydia Ko. Photo credit: Getty Images

In April, Ko appointed her 10th caddie in three years in Peter Godfrey - while Gilchrist was appointed her new swing coach back in February.

Gilchrist admitted that the new coaching team have not put much pressure on Ko as she tries to rediscover her form which saw her finish in the top three 33 times in three years.

"When she was playing well – making changes wasn't a big deal.

"At the end of last year she made some big changes in terms of caddie, fitness programme, equipment and swing – and I think they realised that was a lot and we haven't put too much pressure on her in terms of performance while she adjusts.

"She has been struggling to find a caddie that she can have a good time with out on the golf course, have some fun, communicate well for the full four hours.

"Lydia is phenomenon – to find someone that young who has such a genius mind for the game is just remarkable. At some point, they start growing up and the expectations that weren't there before are now there.

"This has been something very difficult for her – right now she seems happy but you never know."

Ko's former coach David Leadbetter has been one of many people who have criticized her parent's involvement throughout her career, calling them 'naïve'.

However Gilchrist doesn't believe that is the case, saying they have always been by her side.

"The athletes that do the best have more parent involvement than none at all as there is more support.

"But there is also more demands and pressure, but they as a family communicate very well together.

"They are always there for her – you have to remember it is impossible to stay at a high level for ever – at some point you come down.

"From the word go it has been great – we all want to support Lydia and make sure we are there for her the best we can – they have expectations of her but there is nothing new in that.

"I have been dealing with parents my whole career and I have found the more you communicate and the more you involve them in the process the more it seems to flow."

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