Ko crash lands as missed cut adds to troubling year
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko has crashed out of the Ladies Scottish Open after an ugly second round in blustery conditions at the Dundonald Links in North Ayrshire.
Ko, the former world No 1, followed up a first-round 74 with a seven-over 79 yesterday to finish her two rounds on nine-over, four over the cut mark.
She made a terrible start with a double bogey and bogey on the first two holes and although she managed a birdie on the eighth, the back nine was a disaster, with more bogeys on 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16.
It is Ko’s second missed cut of the season, following her whiff at the Kia Classic in March, and continues a dismal run where she has failed to finish inside the top 20 over her last five tournaments.
The Kiwi has yet to win a tournament in 2017 and appears to be very much trending in the wrong direction as she struggles with multiple aspects of her game.
American Cristie Kerr leads the tournament on five-under after rounds of 66 and 73, one head of first-round leader, Australian Karrie Webb, who has had 65 and 75.
‘‘I didn’t hit it that great today but I still managed,’’ Kerr said after a round containing three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
‘‘My caddie and I managed the golf course well and we made the recovery shots when we needed to.’’
Webb’s 75 was 10 shots worse than her opening round, but the Australian was not too downhearted given the strong winds which made scoring difficult.
Meanwhile, Kiwi golfers Danny Lee and Steve Alker have squeezed into the weekend’s play at the RBC Canadian Open on the US PGA Tour.
Lee and Alker finished their first two rounds tied together with 16 other players on the cut line of four-under-par and in a share of 58th place at the tournament in Oakville, Ontario.
Lee shot a four-under-par 68, lifting him 49 places after a first round 72. He had a hot first nine with four birdies but mixed a birdie and bogey on the back nine.
Alker made the turn at twounder, added two more birdies before four bogeys on the homeward journey alongside two more birdies left him with a second successive 70.