Diaz: What Went Wrong For Ko, Can She Get It Back?

Considering Lydia Ko's early 2016 start that included a major championship win, it seems surprising for Golf World's Jaime Diaz to be wondering already what went wrong for the New Zealand native after taking the bronze medal in Rio.

Yet he makes a compelling case that there is cause for both short term burnout concern and the long term given her declining distance in the face of a new rival in long-hitting Ariya Jutanugarn.

Its instructive that for the entire season, Ko statistically lost distance and accuracy, dropping to 126th on the tour with an average of 246.73 yards off the tee, after averaging 250.39 yards to rank 60th last year. Meanwhile, she went from second in greens in regulation in 2015 to 32nd this year. What saved Ko in 2016 was putting, as she was first in both the LPGA’s putting categories. After her first-round 68 at the CME in which she missed seven greens from the fairway, Leadbetter got Ko to make a steeper backswing, and the result was a spectacular Friday 62. But her ball-striking—and scores—got worse on the weekend as she dropped to T-10.

Besides parting ways with another caddie, Diaz also reports that Ko is jumping from Callaway to PXG, adding another component to her return to glory. But instead of trying to grind it out on the range, Ko is wisely shutting things down to regroup.