Pretenders chase Ko
WORLD NO 1 UNDER THREAT Ariya and In-Gee lurking ahead of the year’s first Major.
Lydia Ko, her world No 1 status under threat, says she’ll try not to think about rankings as she defends her title this week at the LPGA’s ANA Inspiration, the first Major golf championship of the year.
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and South Korean Chun In-Gee both have the top spot in their sights heading into the tournament at Rancho Mirage, California.
Ariya has been ranked second to New Zealand’s Ko for 35 weeks in a row. While the 19-year-old Ko has managed three top-10 finishes since making wholesale changes to her support team before the start of the season, she missed the cut in her title defence at the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, last week.
“There is a pressure because you’re the number one-ranked player – you should play awesome week-in and week-out,” Ko said of the stresses of maintaining the position she has held for 75 weeks.
Ko’s missed cut in Carlsbad, which she said came down to a balky putter, was just the second of her pro career.
She had become the youngest golfer, male or female. to win a Major in the modern era at the Evian last September.
Ko sealed the victory with a two-foot birdie putt after a brilliant approach shot on the final hole, beating Chun and England’s Charley Hull by one stroke.
Ariya was in prime position to capture her first LPGA win at one of the tour’s most revered venues last year, but she bogeyed her final three holes to finish fourth, two strokes behind Ko.
She rebounded with a vengeance, stringing together three victories last May and winning back-to-back titles later in the year that included the Women’s British Open.
The Thai snatched LPGA Player-of-the-Year honours from Ko, even though she hasn’t yet been able to nudge the New Zealander from No 1. – AFP