Despite some big changes in the off-season, Lydia Ko made a strong 2018 debut Thursday at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

Ko, who captured this event in 2015, fired a bogey-free 4-under-par 68 and sits just three shots back of the first-round lead and in a tie for third.

Prior to the tournament, Ko confirmed to LPGA.com that she had changed swing coaches and she would start the year with a new caddie. With fresh eyes on her swing and a fresh perspective on her bag, Ko is in a prime position after the first round to notch her first LPGA Tour win since 2016.

Even though she made no bogeys, Ko still called her opening round “adventurous.” She said her short game was key for her, as she scrambled to make pars, and was happy with a “solid start” to her 2018 season.

Although only 20 years old, Ko is in the midst of her eighth Australian Women’s Open. She also captured the Australian Women’s Amateur in 2012 and said she was feeding off some strong crowds in the morning.

Ko said she enjoyed her off-season but was more motivated than ever to get back to business this week, even with all the changes she undertook.

“I know that when I’m out on the golf course I’ve just got to be as positive as I can and just have a lot of fun,” she said. “I think this off season was the most excited I was actually to train and prepare for the season coming up, which is always a nice feeling where you’re excited to practice and get ready and also be excited to play my first event.”

The first round for Ko and her new caddie, Jonny Scott – who most recently was with Karrie Webb – went well, according to the 14-time LPGA Tour winner. Scott wasn’t a stranger to Ko, as she said she had been in groups before where Scott was caddying.

Ko pointed to Scott’s positivity as a key trait in the early days of their relationship.

“If I don’t necessarily hit good shots, just be able to keep me in a good mind frame and that way I don’t really get caught up with all the negative stuff that goes on,” she said of Scott.

As far as her coaching change is concerned, Ko said new instructor Ted Oh (a former PGA Tour player) has been very helpful so far. She said she had heard a lot about him and was eager to begin working with someone on the West Coast, versus in Florida.

She said they’ve been working hard on making her practice more efficient, and how to make things easier when she’s playing under pressure-packed situations.

“I think that’s a huge key when you’re out on the golf course,” she said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I know we’ve still got a lot of work to do but it (was) a productive off-season.”

Away from the golf course, Ko confirmed she had closed down her Twitter account but not because of criticism she was receiving for her off-season changes, but because she admitted she doesn’t spend much time on that social network – and it was taking up a lot of space on her phone.

“I would rather focus on one social media and be able to talk with my fans and do more of that, rather than having multiple and not really spending much time on one anyway,” she explained. “I would say at the end of the day I’m trying to make the decisions where I think are the best for me in my career.”

Big changes paying off for Ko so far

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