Lydia Ko Recovers From Double Sits One Again with 18 to Play within the Colony | LPGA

Lydia Ko did Lydia Ko issues on Saturday at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America, bouncing again from a double bogey on the par-3 eleventh with 4 birdies in her final seven holes to put up a 4-under 67. Ko at present sits one shot again of co-leaders Charley Hull and Xiyu Lin at -10 as she appears for the 18th title of her LPGA Tour profession and second of the 2022 season. It’s the eighth time this 12 months that she’s been inside 5 of the lead getting into the ultimate spherical and up to now, Ko has solely been capable of convert as soon as, successful the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in late January. However the 25-year-old stays unfazed and is wanting ahead to the problem that Outdated American Golf Membership will pose on Sunday as she appears to hoist one other trophy.

“I had a membership that was most likely just a little too huge and I used to be attempting to be too cute with that. That was an error that should not have occurred however occurred. I attempted to salvage it however did not do a terrific job of that, so got here off with a double. I did not get too upset at myself and tried to maneuver on and hit good photographs and provides myself extra appears for birdies,” mentioned Ko. “It nearly feels prefer it’s a brand new occasion for me. The 12 months that I performed the climate was so unhealthy the match was reduce quick. I do not suppose I’ve quite a lot of expertise feed off from, however it appears like I am enjoying effectively at a brand new occasion. Simply attempting to maintain it constructive and be assured on the market.”

That is Ko’s fourth look in The Ascendant LPGA, and in her three earlier begins her finest end is a tie for eighth that got here in 2018, the one time she’s teed it up at Outdated American. Forward of the week in The Colony, Texas, Ko led the Tour in strokes gained complete (2.270), scoring common (69.3) and top-10 end proportion (61%). Since June, Ko has probably the most top-10 finishes of any participant on Tour, carding 8 top-10s – 7 of that are high fives – in her final 10 begins. She’s been knocking on the door fairly onerous since capturing her seventeenth title in January, and with one spherical left to play and Ko as soon as once more within the hunt, it appears excessive time that she lastly pushes it open.

“It is a fairly packed leaderboard, and I believe once you get into good rhythm of issues, you possibly can form of make that streak of birdies and hold going. On the similar time, it is not simple on the market, so it actually can go both manner,” Ko mentioned. “So I am simply going to get pleasure from it and have enjoyable. It is all the time good to be in competition, and I believe that is what the final word objective is, to be in competition. And no matter occurs on the finish of the week, you have acquired actually no management of the outcome after that.”