“Began to question myself”: Lydia Ko gets brutally honest about her rough patch in 2024

Lydia Ko ended up as a finalist for the Rolex Player of the Year award. She was obviously one of the best golfers on the LPGA Tour last year, rising to the World No. 3 position. It was overall a very good year for the New Zealand golfer.

However, there was a time when she couldn't envision it being that way. She struggled for a little while shortly after the start of the season, and she couldn't get her confidence back.

Ko revealed in an exclusive with Golf Monthly:

"Those good performances at the start [of 2024] were exactly what I needed. But I really struggled between April and June, and began to question myself again. It is all down to confidence. That is such a massive thing. Not much is different with your game. But when you feel good about yourself you get into a really good rhythm and the game feels just a little easier. Not much, but enough to make a difference in terms of results.”

She even said that she began wondering if her comeback a few years ago was just a fluke. Lydia Ko felt like the struggling version of herself was true, and the version that had seen success recently was not. Ultimately, the opposite proved to be true.

It culminated in a really terrific year overall, including an Olympic gold medal last summer in Paris.

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Lydia Ko opens up on recovering from early struggles

Lydia Ko refocused and succeeded (Image via Imagn)

Those early struggles made it hard for Lydia Ko to see the light at the end of the tunnel. She eventually made it through, and the New Zealander put in one of her best years on the LPGA Tour and finished behind Nelly Korda for Rolex Player of the Year.

Her struggles resulted in a slew of changes to her coaching, her caddying, and more. Ko tried everything, but she didn't know then what the problem was. She and her husband, according to Golf.com, adopted a puppy and began to consider the long-term future outside of golf.

That helped her refocus and adopt a more lighthearted demeanor on the course. Lydia Ko admitted that she had been burdened by her own expectations and it was causing her to struggle more.

She knew big things were coming, including the Olympics. Her newfound focus allowed her to look at the bigger picture and get back to her game. Ko thanked her coach for helping her exorcise her personal demons and said:

“We all go through a lot of things, whether it’s golf-related or things off the course. Unfortunately how I perform on the golf course affects me off the course and vice versa.”

Ultimately, the golfer did rebound from her struggles and was able to achieve some impressive feats in 2024.