Lydia Ko sizzling as she claims solo lead
Lydia Ko has fired another stunning round to take the solo lead heading into the final round of the Lotte Championship.
The Kiwi golfer carded seven birdies in a bogey-free sevenunder par 65 yesterday to get to 21-under par through three rounds of the latest LPGA Tour event, in Hawaii.
Ko, who started the third round two shots off the pace, holds a one-stroke lead over American Nelly Korda ahead of today’s final round at the Kapolei Golf Club.
Korda carded the joint low round of the day, a nine-under 63, to leap into contention at 20-under par, while the 36-hole leader, Yuka Saso of the Philippines, is third at 17-under par after a one-under 71 yesterday.
Ko’s tee-to-green game was excellent, but all she had to show for it after the opening nine holes was a couple of birdies at the two short par-fives. However, her putter warmed up on the back nine as she added five birdies.
‘‘I stayed patient . . . I had a stretch in the middle of the front nine where I had really long putts for birdies. So just trying to not make stupid mistakes and kind of keep it in control.
‘‘Nice to finish up the round with two birdies on the last two holes. This is a golf course where even though it’s windy it seems like everybody is playing so well, so you’re just trying to make your share of birdies.’’
Scoring was incredibly low with the field average more than 3.5 shots under par, and Ko took advantage of the short par-fives by making birdie on all four.
It continues an excellent run of form for the former world No 1, who has two runner-up finishes in her last four starts.
Today Ko, who is just shy of her 24th birthday, will be aiming to win for the first time in three years. In fact, that win at the LPGA Mediheal Championship in 2018 is her only win during the past five years. But since the Covid-19 enforced break she has had an excellent run of results, and worked her way back up to No 11 in the world rankings.