"Lydia is not only an exceptional player, but also an
exceptional person ... we wish Lydia the very best for the
future." Ko's decision to leave Leadbetter came just two months
after she fired her former caddie Jason Hamilton.
The 19-year-old, who was born in South Korea, has not tasted
victory since the Marathon Classic in July and has finished
outside the top 40 in three of her last six LPGA starts.
Already a double major champion, Ko ended the 2016 LPGA season
in second place behind Ariya Jutanugarn in both the official
money list and the Race to the CME Globe, and was also pipped by
the Thai in the hunt for Player of the Year honours.
In addition, the New Zealander had to settle for second best for
lowest scoring average as Rookie of the Year Chun In-gee of
South Korea narrowly edged her out to win the Vare Trophy with
69.583 to 69.596.
After Ko fired her caddie in mid-October, Leadbetter cited
fatigue as a possible reason for her drop in form.
"Scheduling is one of those things that she's really got to look
at because she has really been burning the candle at both ends,"
Leadbetter told Radio New Zealand.
"It's tough. I mean the way the LPGA tour is set out, they have
a lot of their tournaments in a row and a lot of good ones.
"She doesn't want to disappoint the sponsors and tries to play
as many tournaments as she can, but longevity-wise she has
really got to pace herself."
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in St. Augustine, Florida;
Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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