Ko goes low to nab share of second
Lydia Ko continued her strong recent form with a sizzling opening round in torrential conditions at the LPGA Tour’s Scottish Women’s Open in Ayrshire.
Fresh off a third place finish at the Evian Championship in France, the Kiwi shot a seven-under 65 at Dundonald Links to sit one shot behind surprise early clubhouse leader Hye Jin Choi, of South Korea.
In a bogey-free round, Ko made seven birdies – four in her front nine – to share second with American Lilia Vu and Frenchwoman Celine Boutier.
England’s Georgia Hall and South Korean Narin An sit a shot further back on six-under.
Ko is aiming to go one better than last year’s event in Fife, where she finished second behind American Ryann O’Toole.
The afternoon starters had to cope with a torrential downpour which left standing water on the course, but Boutier and Ko overcame the tricky conditions to shoot 65 and join Vu in second.
O’Toole shot 68, with world No 1 Jin Young Ko returning a two-underpar 70, six shots behind her fellow South Korean in first.
A 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Ko said she ‘‘played really solid’’ to keep herself in the title hunt on day one.
She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens to post her second lowest score of the season.
‘‘I actually really liked the golf course last year,’’ Ko said. ‘‘But this was a course that I’ve played well before when it was an LET event, and then I played really, really bad when it was an LPGA event so I wasn’t really sure.’’
Meanwhile, Ko’s compatriot Ryan Fox made a solid start at the English Open in Fife, Scotland, carding a four-under 68 to sit five strokes behind leader Sean Crocker, who shot a course-record 63 for a one-shot lead.
Fox made three birdies in a blemish-free front nine, before a bogey on the 10th briefly stalled his progress.
He got back on track with birdies on the 12th and 13th before ending with a double bogey on the 17th and an eagle on the par-five 18th to finish his round in style.