Lydia Ko made a super start in pursuit of her first Major title in five years before getting the wobbles.
The New Zealander was three under par through the front nine just one shot from the lead in her opening round at the Women’s US Open in San Francisco on Friday morning (NZ time), but lost contact with the leaders during a bumpy back nine.
She finished the day in a 10-way tie for 16th after shooting a 71, four shots behind leaders England’s Mel Reid and 17-year old US amateur Megha Ganne who both signed for rounds of four-under 67.
Lydia Ko was happy with her start at the US Women’s Open golf tournament at The Olympic Club.
Three consecutive pars on 10, 11 and 12 kept Ko in contention as she sought her first Major win since 2016 and her third overall.
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But a bogey on the par three 13th, followed by a double bogey on the par four 14th and another bogey on the par five 16th, sent the former world No.1 dropping down the leader board at a great rate of knots after losing four shots in as many holes.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand checks out the yardage details on the fifth hole during the first round of the US Women’s Open Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Ko did manage a late highlight with a birdie on the par five 17th to get back to even and closed out her, up and down, round with her 11th par hole.
Earlier, Ko made birdies on the fourth, sixth and seventh holes on a cold, foggy day at the Olympic Club venue which was testing the field with its long rough and tight fairways.
Ko rated her opening round as solid.
I had a couple not-so-good holes, but when you make a big number it doesn’t take much for you to make a double or a triple.
Megha Ganneh, a 17-year old US amateur, holds a share of the lead following the opening round of the Women’s US Open.
So overall I played solid. Two not-so-good holes, but other than that I felt like I played solid. So hopefully kind of keep that momentum going into tomorrow, Ko said.
If she can find her front nine form consistently in her second round, Ko could quickly find herself in contention again at the halfway point of the tournament but Ko believes patience on the tricky course will be key.
Yeah, you have to be grinding out there and be patient. Birdies are hard and it’s easy to make mistakes, so you just have to stay patient and enjoy it out there.
Ko has been in fantastic form all year, with five top-10 finishes and her first LPGA tournament victory in three years.
In her professional debut, fellow Kiwi Amelia Garvey shot a three-over 74 to be tied for 59th. Garvey had two birdies and five bogeys, three of which came on consecutive holes late in her round.