Talking helps. Letting go of your frustration helps even more. Two things stood out from Lydia Ko’s latest appearance at The Scoop. Golf.com’s Claire Rogers asked what advice she would give to her colleagues who are suffering from anxiety and reeling under pressure.

Lydia Ko emphasized the value of opening up. She visits a sports psychologist to this day. The analogy she gave might sound strange, but it’s quite a thoughtful one. “She [her coach] is a rubbish bin. And, I am taking out the trash that I shouldn’t really hold on to. I like… give it to her. I get good advice back.”

Lydia Ko is certainly the right person to be asked for advice. Not because she enrolled at Seoul University for a psychology class. Not for her plans to attend Stanford at some point. Rather, the two-time major winner speaks from experience.

Ko’s fall was as severe as her rise to the top was swift. She was already a 14-time winner by 2016, adding one more to her tally in 2018. Then, Ko had to endure three winless years between 2018 and 2021. Even last year, Ko struggled on the greens, relying on sponsor exemptions for title defense.

Paris 2024 Olympics – Golf – Women’s Round 4 – Le Golf National, Guyancourt, France – August 10, 2024. Lydia Ko of New Zealand lines up a putt during the final round REUTERS/Paul Childs

The two-time major winner admitted those years were taxing. Her mental health and self-confidence hit the skids. But working with Sports psychologists helped. A few months ago, Lydia Ko said, “You’re not sure if being vulnerable is not a good thing, but I think it is a good thing.”

After an Olympic gold medal and a Hall of Fame entry, her advice remains the same. “Have somebody, whether it is like a therapist, or family friends,  that you can talk to about anything,” she told Rogers. For her, that person is mental health coach, Chung Green.

Lydia Ko’s mental health coach talks about her 

Per Maeil Business Newspaper, a South Korean publication, Ko has been working with Chung Green of Green Coaching Solutions for the last five years. Talking about her client, Green said, “If you don’t dwell on the results and do well, the best results will come out. Lydia Ko was just that case.”

Green’s job is to keep Ko out of the greens when she is outside the ropes. And, when she is inside, train her in a way to keep her nerves steady, even in the most nerve-wracking moments and gut-wrenching defeats. The result was visible at Le Golf National.

Ko played carefree golf through the four rounds, often cheering for her competitors more than herself. Even when her lead almost slipped out of her hand with a double-bogey on the back nine, Ko admitted she thought of Jon Rahm, who squandered his four-shot lead at the same stretch a week prior. Bue Kiwi International never let her nerves get the better of her. Lydia Ko, the youngest LPGA Hall of Famer, is certainly not as solid as a rock all the time. But she can morph into one when the need arises.