Ko low on gas in tough day at Chevron
Lydia Ko had a tough day in the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California.
Ko, who began the first major of the year with her best start to a favourite tournament, fell down the leaderboard after carding a one-over 73 on day two. Ko slipped from a share of fourth into tied for 20th at threeunder, six shots off the lead held by world No 49 Hinako Shibuno of Japan.
The Kiwi world No 3 started well with two birdies in the first seven holes and looked to be in the mix again. But the round started going downhill as she bogeyed the par-three eighth, followed by three further bogeys on the back nine and just one birdie. A blemish on the last hole, where she missed a short par putt, epitomised her struggles in almost all facets of her game.
It was a rare off day for the former world No 1, who started her season with a win in January and several solid finishes, before missing a couple of events due to Covid-19.
To fight back into contention, Ko will need to start by fixing her driving off the tee, which plagued her second day. She hit only five of 14 fairways and also didn’t have the best time with her putter.
The opposite was true for the 23-year-old Shibuno, who shot a six-under 66 to take the lead by a shot over Americans Annie Park and Jennifer Kupcho, and defending champion Patty Tavatanakit, who carded a three-under 69.
“I feel like I left a lot out there,” Tavatanakit said. “But at the same time, that’s just golf. There is no way you’re going to have a perfect day with no mistakes.”
Park played by herself the first two rounds, with the players grouped in twosomes and an odd number in the field.
“Playing by myself was kind of weird but I kind of got used to it,” Park said. “I think when I made the turn and started waiting on players in the group in front of me, kind of just started to feel like normal golf.”
South Korean pair Sei Young Kim and Hyo Joo Kim are at seven-under after both firing 67s, while Nanna Koerstz Madsen (67) and Ally Ewing (68) are at six-under.
Koerstz Madsen has a playoff victory and loss in her last two starts, beating Xiyu Lin three weeks ago in Thailand to become the LPGA Tour’s first Danish winner and losing to Atthaya Thitikul last week in Carlsbad.
World No 1 Jin Young Ko, whose record streak of under-par rounds ended with a two-over 74 in her first round, rebounded with a four-under 68 to move into a share of 29th.