Lydia Ko moves into medal contention in Paris
Lydia Ko hits her tee shot at the 17th today – image PGA Tour / IGF
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko has increased her chances of adding a Gold Medal to the Silver and Bronze Olympic Medals she already has in her possession with a second round of 67 at Le Golf National and as the event heads into round three she is just three from the lead held by Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux.
A bogey at the last after laying up and then pitching long into the back bunker at the par 5 was perhaps a disappointing way to finish what had been an impressive move up the leaderboard but she is nicely placed to moved into contention for Gold over the final 36 holes.
Ko was asked to compare today’s round with her opening day 72.
“You know what, I actually played really well yesterday. I think the pin positions were a little bit more difficult yesterday, and honestly, going through some of the pins in the morning, I was a little stressed. But when I saw Celine shoot that 7-under, I thought she was playing a different golf course than me. But in ways it gave me hope that I, too, could maybe shoot a score like that.
“Today, I played really solid and really put myself in that many awkward positions, and I think being consistent is really important around here, especially off the tee. A little bit of a sloppy finish, I would say, but other than that, if I don’t think that I bogeyed the 18th hole and I said, oh, well, I bogeyed it on 8 or something, I would have probably been even happier. So it’s like putting into perspective.
“But obviously nice to have a good round under my belt and be if a good position for the next two days.”
“Honestly this golf course is so hard, it’s hard to think about the other things because I’m just trying to shoot the best score I can around here.
“I said earlier in the week, I think this is the toughest golf course we’ve played in the past three Games, and all of them had very different characteristics. But this one, you could shoot a really low score if you’re on but at the same time it can get away from you, as well.
“I think there’s so many things I need to focus, like right in front of me, which has been good. Because then that has been lesson my mind. It’s really cool that if I did win the Gold, I could get in the Hall of Fame, and it would stop all these questions, like from you in the future.
“I feel like if it’s going to happen, whether it’s in Paris or in Florida or in Scotland, it’s going to happen. And I’m just excited that I have this opportunity.
“If I get to do it here, it would be a pretty cool way to get it done. But I’m playing alongside 59 other of the top qualified players here, and there’s 36 holes for me to go.”
As Ko was suggesting a win this week would see her enter the LPGA Hall of Fame for which she needs just one more win. Her last win was at the opening event of this season at the Tournament of Champions.
Australia’s Minjee Lee made a horror start with a bogey at the 1st and a double at the second when she found the water at the par 3 and finished with a round of 74 to have her in a share of 22nd and now nine shots from the lead.
Hannah Green improved on her opening 77 with a round of 70 to be tied for 29th.
The leader Metraux produced an almost unbelievable opening nine of 28 but cooled over the closing nine which she played in 38 for her round of 66 but she has a one-shot lead over China’s Ruoning Yin.
Metraux is currently raked # 137 in the Rolex World Rankings so these are giddy heights for her but playing so close to her home country has clearly inspired her to a brilliant start.
