Lydia Ko's ex caddie: "She needs to wake up"

Lydia Ko's former caddie Gary Matthews has blasted the ladies world number one following their split after just nine events together.

Ko, 19, dismissed her long-time looper Jason Hamilton last October and then handed Matthews the bag earlier this year before axing him after finishing tied second at last week's LPGA Lotte Championship.

The split has not gone down well with Matthews, who thought he had done enough to earn the full-time gig alongside the New Zealander who has now spent 78 weeks at the top of the world rankings. 

"In all honesty, there is no communication in the whole camp," Matthews told Golf Digest.

"You never know anything or are told anything. The agent [Michael Yim of IMG] called me on the Monday after Palm Springs and said, 'She needed a change, we’re going with somebody else, but you can caddie in Hawaii.'

"I’m like well, never in 19 years have I been fired, and I’m still working for the person. What was so strange for me, we worked unbelievably well in Hawaii, the communication and everything was just phenomenal.

"I wish her the best, but she's gone through so many caddies. She needs to wake up on caddie-player relationships otherwise she'll just keep doing it."

Matthews, who has worked for Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Trevor Immelman and Camilo Villegas in the past, is now looking to secure the services of ladies world number 19 Minjee Lee. And he's pretty confident about getting the job.

"I feel like I am the best," said Matthews. "I took the job when she [Ko] was number one in the world. It's what I strive for and thrive for."

In a little more than three years, Ko has gone through nine caddies. Her search for a new caddie continues.