Who is Lydia Ko’s coach?

Lydia Ko has had one of the most impressive careers in golf, so who is her coach?

The South Korean-born Kiwi is now a Hall of Famer after winning her third major in 2024 and completing the Olympic medal slam.

Ko won gold at the Paris Games and ended her eight-year major drought by lifting the AIG Women’s Open title at St Andrews.

But she achieved that without a formal coach. So, here’s some background on who Lydia Ko has worked with.

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Lydia Ko coach

In 2012, Ko became the youngest ever player to win an LPGA Tour event – the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

The New Zealander defender her title and became the only amateur to win two LPGA Tour events.

Throughout her meteoric rise, Ko worked with swing coach and golf pro Guy Wilson who owned Pupuke Golf Club in Auckland.

That is where Ko began playing golf at the age of five. Wilson coached the now LPGA Tour star for 11 years before the pair parted ways, as Ko turned professional.

After Ko won at the Old Course, on Wilson’s birthday, he told the New Zealand Herald: “She’s fought back from falling off the planet a couple of years ago and now, everything is falling in line for her.

“There are [golfers] that are happy just doing what they’re doing and maintaining their level but like Tiger [Woods], Lydia, always wanted to be better.

“She always saw things that could be improved and if that meant changing the swing or changing the caddy or coach, it was one of the things that she’s done.”

In November 2013, Ko began working with David Leadbetter. But three years later, they split up.

During their time together, Ko won ten regular LPGA Tour and two majors – the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration.

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Leadbetter, from Sussex, England, is best known for his work with Nick Faldo in the mid-1980s, although he has coached several major champions.

In a 2018 post on his website, Ko’s former coach said she had been burning out that year and her father pushed for a change.

“Unfortunately, in our opinion, Lydia’s schedule was such that a lot of fatigue and tiredness had set in,” Leadbetter wrote.

“Somehow through it all, she managed to win a silver medal, despite the fact that she was physically and mentally exhausted – a classic symptom of burnout.

“Along with all of this, her father, a non-accomplished golfer, heard rumours that she needed to change her swing and made suggestions to Lydia to change it – independently of her coaches.”

After working with Leadbetter, Ko spent time with several other coaches including David Whelan, Jorge Parada, Ted Oh and Gary Gilchrist.

But Ko settled on Sean Foley, Tiger Woods’ ex-coach, which would be her seventh coach in seven years.

Ko first reached out to Foley in 2020, and they spent two years working together before splitting up in 2022 for ‘logistical reasons’. During the spell, Ko was winless on tour.

Her sister and manager Sura told Golfweek that Ko was casually working with Oh after leaving Foley, but nothing was confirmed full-time.

It’s unclear if Ko has a coach in 2024.