The closest Lydia Ko had come to recording a hole-in-one in her career, either in a tournament or otherwise, was during a practice round. sort of.
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Ko, the favorite to win a gold medal before the women took the course on Wednesday, had been scuffling a long way from the top before Friday’s second round began. That’s where she made three birdies that pulled her from off the podium into the silver-medal position when all was said and done.
The 19-year-old was fresh off finishing five strokes behind Korean victor Inbee Park after sinking an 18th hole birdie putt to edge China’s Shanshan Feng by one stroke.
Ko was playing the 140-yard eighth hole already 3 under par through seven holes of her round. Ko finally got some momentum going with her putter and now will be in the final group in Saturday’s final round.
“I had a (score of) six under in my head and to have done that is really cool”, Ko added.
“It was really tough out there with the wind being pretty strong today”.
Ko is now two shots behind leader Park, who shot one under for the day.
Early on in the final round, Ko showed a composure well beyond her 19 years.
In a testament to how demanding the conditions were on Day 3 when winds gusted to 35 miles per hour, Ko said her even par closing nine was nearly as impressive as her opening loop.
“I knew I wasn’t only doing this for me, but for the other athletes that were here and for the whole of New Zealand”.
“I would have loved to like done a dance or jumped up and down, but that situation, I think I was nearly trying to cry, and then I realized, hey, I’ve got 11 more holes, get out of it”. “I said 6 under, but it feels more like 10-under”, Ko said. That’s what the situation and conditions were like out there.
“To see him out here, to come and support me, I think that’s been incredible”. “That kind of boosted the confidence a little bit”.
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“I think the most important thing for me is to just focus on me and just focus on the shot I have in front of me”, she said.
