Ko shoots 64, nabs second
New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko made a big weekend charge on the back of a hot streak with her putter, but came up short in the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii on Sunday.
The world No 1 shook off a first round 73 to contend for the title, before firing a 64, 17-under par to finish tied for second place.
The tournament was won by USA’s Cristie Kerr on a total of 20-under par, with Ko, In Gee Chun and Su-Yeon Jang, both of Korea, jointly tied for second at 17-under.
Ko was three-over through 12 holes in the first round but piled in 21 birdies with just one bogey across the remaining 60 holes – and was easily the hottest player on course over the weekend.
She had a seven-under 65 in the third round before the eight-under 64 on Sunday, requiring just 24 and 22 putts respectively over those two rounds.
The second place ranking was Ko’s best finish from seven LPGA Tour starts this year. She has failed to win so far in 2017, therefore coming under the spotlight, but she has had five top-11 finishes in her past six starts.
In saying that, this is her first top-5 finish in 13 LPGA Tour events dating back to last year’s Manulife Classic.
Ko looked well out of the picture early in the final round as she fell 10 shots behind the leader, but she poured in four successive birdies from the seventh hole and added a further four from the 13th hole to jump right back in the mix. But the leaders needed to falter and they didn’t.
Kerr kept pace with Ko, nailing birdie after birdie on the back nine and finished on three pars to make 66. Ko’s performance means she will also hold onto her world No1 ranking, which has come under intense pressure, for at least another week.
● Kiwi No 1 Danny Lee, who had started so well to be five-under par and in a tie for fifth after the first round, faded right out of the picture at the US PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage event. He backed up a second round one-over 72 with a two-over par 73 in the third round.