Golf: Lydia Ko splits with caddie

Lydia Ko of New Zealand alongside caddie Gary Matthews. Photo / Getty

Lydia Ko's best result in nine months has not been enough to avoid another caddie change.

After an offseason which saw her change her clubs, caddie and coach, Ko has quickly made another move, firing new caddie Gary Matthews after just nine events.

Ko's management confirmed reports that last week's Lotte Championship, where she finished second, was her last event with Matthews on the bag.

Ko's finish at the Hawaii tournament was her best finish since last July, and was her fifth top 10 finish in the nine events working with Matthews.

Despite shooting 65 and 64 on the weekend, Ko made the change to part ways with Matthews, continuing her run of caddie changes.

Before hiring Matthews, Ko had gone through multiple caddies. She had a slew of bagmen in her rookie year, before winning 10 times in two years with Jason Hamilton - her longest stint with a caddie - during her rise to world number one.

2008 Masters champion and Golf Channel analyst Trevor Immelman says while others may want more consistency, it is difficult to argue with Ko's impressive results.

"For all we know this is her secret and it is working for her. It's a very interesting situation but at this point, it's very hard to second guess her," said Immelman.

"If I was in her team I would definitely be asking for a little bit of consistency, but I think we need to see how the next few months play out - at least until the end of the year before we can really judge how all these changes have panned out."

Ko has been world number one for 77 successive weeks, despite her lead atop the world rankings being closed of late by rival golfers So Yeon Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn.

It's being reported Ko is talking to potential caddie candidates ahead of her next tournament in Texas starting on April 27th.

Lydia Ko's caddies as a professional:

Michael Henderson
Scott Lubin
Mark Wallington
Steve Kay
Domingo Jojola
Mike Cowan
Greg Johnson
Jason Hamilton
Gary Matthews