Ko bounces back to lead in LPGA tour final
The first four holes into the wind are a beast. I knew if I could hang on and be patient, there would be a lot of opportunities.
Lydia Ko
Lydia Ko began her quest for the largest prize in women’s golf history by hitting a tree and making bogey on a par five.
The rest of her opening round at the CME Tour Championship couldn’t have gone much better yesterday.
Ko responded with eight birdies, including four in a row late in the round at Tiburon Golf Club in Florida, that sent her to a seven-under 65 and a one-shot lead in the LPGA Tour season finale.
So much is at stake this week, even beyond the US$2 million ($3.26m) prize to the winner.
Ko has a one-point lead in the race for LPGA Tour Player of the Year, and she would appear to be a lock to win the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Both are worth a point in her bid to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“If I’m holding the trophy, holding all the trophies, or no trophy, I just want to have a good week,” Ko said. “These opportunities don’t come along very often. I want to try to grab it when it’s there.”
It’s all right in front of Ko, who has two wins in what she considers her most consistent year on the LPGA Tour.
And right behind are plenty of challengers. American Danielle Kang and Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand were at 66, Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland and Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea were at 67 and the group at 68 included Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson.
Korda missed four months this year because of surgery for a blood clot in her left arm. She is back to full strength, and her victory last week up the Florida coast at the Pelican Golf Club allowed her to return to No 1 in the world rankings.
Henderson had to withdraw last week with back pain, and the Canadian wasn’t even sure she would be able to play. But she made an adjustment in her swing which allowed her to get around Tiburon with a respectable 68.
Henderson has an outside shot at Player of the Year, though she would have to win and have Ko and Minjee Lee finish third or worse.
Lee, who has already set an LPGA Tour record with US$3.7 million in earnings this season, opened with a
71. Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, the
19-year-old who reached No 1 in the world until Korda took it back, carded a 73.
Ko could only laugh at her start to the tournament, hitting a tree.
“It’s almost like I had two tee shots,” she said. “Even though I bogeyed a par five, I knew plenty of holes were going to play downwind. I tried not to get too frustrated. The first four holes into the wind are a beast. I knew if I could hang on and be patient, there would be a lot of opportunities. I was able to grab a lot of them on the back nine.”