Ko off to a solid start
Lydia Ko was in a tie for fourth at threeunder after her opening round at the Chevron Championship – the year’s first major.
Starting on the 10th tee, the Kiwi world No 8 made a bogey on the par-four 11th, her second hole of the day.
Birdies on the par-five 13th and the parfour 14th then got her going, with birdies on the par-four second and par-three seventh taking her to three-under for her first round at The Woodlands in Texas.
With the late starters still active, Ko was three shots behind clubhouse leader Lauren Coughlin, but just one shot behind the pair of Marina Alex and Minami Katsu, who were in a tie for second.
Ko said there “were a little bit of nerves on the first couple of holes” before her back-to-back birdies.
“I think that kind of calmed the nerves a little bit and I played solid really after that. Didn’t put myself in that many difficult positions.
“You just have to stay patient. I felt like there were a few putts I wish I could have holed, but all in all [it was a] good start.”
Ko is one tournament win away from securing a place in the LPGA hall of fame, having last won at the start of the year at the Tournament of Champions.
Her second and last major championship win was in 2015 at the Chevron Championship, when it was known as the ANA Inspiration and played in California.
Ko said the advice from her mental skills coach about dealing with any nerves she felt as she began her quest for a third major was simple: “Embrace it.”
“She said if I do feel nervous when tournament day comes and I’m on the first tee, she said just embrace it and take it as if, you know what, this still means a lot to me and I still want to perform at the highest level.
“I think that was good advice going into today. I think it doesn’t matter what event we’re playing or what circumstances, when you’re younger you want to get away from the nerves.
“To some extent, as long as you can control it, the nerves are good for you and you’re able to excel and get the adrenaline to hit some shots that you may not be able to execute when you’re just practising.”