Lydia Ko went through one of the toughest stretches of her career in 2023. Across roughly 20 events, she managed just two top-10 finishes and didn’t win a single tournament on the LPGA Tour, leaving her confidence shaken. While victories at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International and the Grant Thornton Invitational offered some reassurance, they weren’t official LPGA Tour wins. What she really needed was a breakthrough on the main tour, and as the losses kept piling up, Ko even started to wonder if she’d ever win again.

Talking to Brian Baumgartner, Cooper Manning, and Kenny Mayne on the We Need a Fourth podcast, Ko said, “I feel like my career has been a roller coaster ride. And that’s why coming down the 18th hole at the Paris Olympics, I said to myself, ‘I’m so proud of overcoming my own fears, overcoming my own doubts,’ because a year before then, I was literally eating Texas barbecue in Portland, Oregon, after missing the cut, and thinking, ‘I’m never going to break par.’”

Going from being the player of the year and winning major championships to not winning a significant event for three years was tough for Ko. She even believed that she was on the verge of losing her card if she didn’t have an exemption from winning a couple of years ago. 

The depths of Ko’s struggles were rooted in a devastating loss of form and confidence that completely stripped away her natural, free-flowing game. Going from the absolute summit of the Rolex Rankings to suddenly fighting just to make the weekend on the LPGA Tour created an immense psychological burden. 

However, she did succeed in defeating the yips with two consecutive wins at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the Kroger Queen City Championship and the AIG Women’s Open in 2024. She even won a gold at the Paris Olympics to further strengthen her stance. And now, Lydia Ko confirmed that she could handle the situations much better than she could before. 

Talking to the media ahead of the Fortinet Founders Cup, Ko said, “I think there is a very fine line. Because when you first come on tour, you’re almost naïve to everything, and you don’t have the scar tissue from golf. You’re just out there free, just trusting yourself. Now, I can handle the bad situations a lot better. I can’t fight having nerves, but I can handle those things better.”

But how did she manage her yips? 

Lydia Ko opens up on the secret behind her yips management

On the We Need a Fourth podcast, Ko confessed, “It was tough and being in that position is hard. But I think what really helped me was… as much as we’re like, ‘Okay, don’t be technical,’ I think having a couple things to really focus on is important. And that has helped me to kind of be less result-oriented and think about the process.”

She claimed that many people tend to avoid talking about their tough times. But for her, things were different. She even hired a mental coach to help her overcome the yips. And she followed a strong and steady approach. 

She continued, “I think that was kind of my way to just slowly climb out of that hole. And I think that’s why I was a much stronger player in Paris than the year prior, because I was able to overcome those difficult times.” 

This season, Ko is yet to claim a win. But she’s already pretty close to three out of six top 10 performances. But the question is, can she win and reinforce her stance in the upcoming events?