Cambridge, Canada
Lydia Ko entered the weekend at Whistle Bear Club in Cambridge, Ontario, fortunate to have made the cut. After a disappointing first two rounds, Ko managed to rescue her tournament with three birdies in the last six holes on Friday. Without that stretch of good form, she would have missed just her second cut as a professional golfer.
Lydia Ko Birdies Her Way Back Into Contention
Sitting eight shots back of leader, American Marina Alex, the world’s number one began the weekend with a birdie on the par-4 first hole. She gained momentum with subsequent birdies on the fourth and fifth, and finished the front nine with a fourth birdie.
Her form continued in the back, with the 19-year-old putting three-straight birdies together starting on the par-5 twelfth hole.
.@LydiaKo now one shot off the lead with 3 ?’s in a row! #ManulifeClassic
Scores: https://t.co/iLvvYbgijA
— LPGA (@LPGA) September 3, 2016
Ko finished the day at 10-under, and a share of the lead. When asked about her round, she cited the strong start as being key:
“I started off well, birdieing the first, and then I kind of let off on two and three. I had really good birdie opportunities but I just didn’t commit to it. I was a little disappointed coming off two and three, but birdieing four and five kind of put my mood around.”
She was also asked about how her strong finish in second round might have helped her to get her back where she needed to be.
“Yesterday was kind of an off day. I doubled the first hole, and when you double the first you are trying to play catch-up even though you have 17 more holes to go. It’s always good to finish off with a birdie in any scenario whether you’re leading or not. Maybe I got a good buzz going but I always say every hole is a new hole.”
Currently, Ko has a four-way tie for lead with Marina Alex, Ryann O’Toole and Hyo Joo Kim.
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