Ko slips off pace as rivals charge
World No 1 golfer Lydia Ko has slipped from the lead in the seasonending LPGA CME Group Tour Championship, but the Kiwi remains well in contention going into today’s final round.
Ko shot a one-over par 73 in her third round of the tournament yesterday in Naples, Florida, which has her in a tie for fourth, two shots off the lead.
Ko had begun the day three shots clear of her rivals, following her sensational course-record 62 in her second round.
But the 19-year-old was brought back to the pack, as she carded one of the poorer rounds of the day, while others flourished. She mixed three birdies with four bogeys, with Ko’s 18th-hole struggles summing up her day, when she sent her second shot well deep and rolling into the water behind the green.
Ko can claim the Rolex Player of the Year award with victory, while she would also need a win to try to secure her third straight Race to the CME Globe title and the lucrative bonus that comes with it.
She started the event second in the standings behind Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who posted the day’s equal-best round - sevenunder - to surge into a five-way tie for fourth with Ko.
England’s Charley Hull leads on 13-under while USA’S Brittany Lincicome and South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu are tied for second, one shot back.
Meanwhile, Kiwi golfers Tim Wilkinson and Steve Alker failed to make any headway in their third rounds of The RSM Classic PGA Tour event in Georgia yesterday.
Wilkinson was able to manage a late eagle, on his 15th hole, immediately after his one bogey of the day, but there were no birdies for the left-hander, who ended up carding a one-under 69 at Sea Island Resort to remain unmoved, in a tie for 26th, on nine-under.
The 38-year-old is seven shots off leader Mackenzie Huges, of Canada, who hit a two-under 68.
Fellow Kiwi, Alker, started on the back nine and shot a one-over 71, having recovered from a horror double bogey on his opening hole to birdie the second. He went on to bogey the fourth and birdie the 15th, and sits in a tie for 51st.