Before Saturday’s round at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, Lydia Ko set a personal goal to shoot -5 on Moving Day at Blythefield Country Club. She ultimately met that goal, carding a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to put herself in a tie for fifth heading into Sunday. After a first-round 70 and second-round 68, Ko wanted to make a big jump up the leaderboard on day three and, after seeing low morning scores posted before her afternoon tee time, she knew she could do it.
“Especially when there are a lot of low scores, you're trying to do your best out there and at the same time be aggressive,” she said. “You see that there is like 6-under, 7-under, 5-under, 8-under being posted, and you kind of want to keep up with the pace.”
Ko’s ball-striking was key to her Saturday success. She hit 11 of 13 fairways and 18 of 18 greens and is currently ranked No. 1 in the field in birdies (17) and greens in regulation (49 of 54). Yet, she didn’t set herself apart from the competition during the first two days – she began the third round six shots out of the lead – until she carded her first bogey-free round of the week.
“I think I made some careless mistakes the first couple of rounds. I felt like some of the bogeys I made were probably not necessary,” Ko said. “I think over the last few weeks I felt like I made some silly mistakes, so I'm trying to do a better job with that. Not get too stressed out about it and just be committed. That's such an important mindset personally for me to be at, even if the results aren't there.”
A two-time major champion, Ko notched her 17th career victory this year at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. This season, Ko has five top-10 finishes, has made the cut in all eleven starts and has not finished outside of the top 30. In other words, it’s been a great stretch of golf for the 25-year-old, even if she sometimes puts pressure on herself to perform. But for now, she’s just trying to enjoy the game alongside her fellow competitors, most recently Hannah Green, who she was paired with on Saturday.
“We've played together in six competitive rounds in the nine that she's last played, so she might be sick and tired of me,” she laughed. “No, I really enjoy it. It's always nice to play with a player that you get along with, and she's so good that I feel like I learn from her as well.”
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