Golf: Lydia Ko parts ways with swing coach Sean Foley after successful two years

Lydia Ko has parted ways with her swing coach Sean Foley.

Ko announced via Instagram on Monday that she and Foley, her swing coach for more than two years, had split due to “logistical reasons”.

The 25-year-old thanked Foley, who has previously coached Tiger Woods and Justin Rose, for not only helping evolve her game but also grow as a person.

“When I first met Sean, I was in a place where I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself and in my game,” Ko wrote.

“Over the past two years he has helped me evolve as a better player and person. Our time together was full of so much learning, laughter.

“Last month, we decided to go our own ways as a coach and player due to logistical reasons, but Sean will always be a close friend. Sean has been and will be a mentor to me. Thank you again, Sean, for your inspiration and your support in my golf and personal life.”

The timing of the split comes as a surprise, with Ko back to playing some of the best golf of her career since linking up with Foley.

Since beginning her partnership with Foley in July 2020 during the LPGA Tour’s pandemic hiatus, Ko has gone from ranked outside of the top 50 to world No 3.

She’s had two wins on tour and 11 top-5 finishes this season, seeing her lead both the LPGA’s scoring and player of the year races.

After Ko snapped a 1084-day win drought with her victory at the Lotte Championship in April last year, Foley posted a heartfelt message on social media saying Ko helped him rediscover his love for coaching and the sport.

Lydia Ko and Sean Foley. Photo / Getty

“I have to admit when I started working with Lyds, I was at a crossroads in my career,” Foley said at the time. “The question that arose from that painful but most important time was, ‘Why do I coach?’ The next day I get a phone call from Lydia. As we started to work, I started to remember why I started to do this for a living in the first place.”

Foley told the Herald in August that he could see the day where Ko wouldn’t need his coaching advice anymore.

“Lydia is becoming very much to the point where, which is the ultimate goal of any coach, where she can basically do it on her own. I think that’s really the goal, isn’t it?”

According to Golfweek, Ko’s sister and manager, Sura, revealed that Ko has been working on a casual basis with former coach Ted Oh. Ko first started working with Oh ahead of the 2018 season.

Ko, who is coming off her 18th LPGA victory at the BMW Championship last month, is not in the field for this week’s Toto Japan Classic, but is expected to compete at the season’s final two events, the Pelican Women’s Championship and CME Group Tour Championship.