“All day, I said, ‘Hey, I’ve got to make two more birdies, two more birdies, ‘” Ko said after Friday’s round that started with a bogey on the par-4 first hole and featured birdies on Nos.
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Rio de Janeiro: Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn will be among the favourites to win the top prize in the women’s event when golf returns to the Olympics after a 112-year absence.
The 20-year-old Hull has recovered from the asthma attack that kept her out of one of the four-ball matches last week in the UL International Crown.
That moved Lee to 11 under par overall, a score good enough for the outright lead at the halfway stage, but China’s Shanshan Feng and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn are breathing down her neck.
American Mo Martin, the 2014 champion, is one of the shortest from the tee on Tour but she proved she is something of a British Open specialist with a 69 for third place on 11 under par.
Jutanugarn birdied six of the first 14 holes and closed with four pars to reach 16-under 200 – breaking the tournament 54-hole mark of 201, set by Caroline Masson in 2011 at Carnoustie.
“I know how to play under pressure”, Jutanugarn told BBC Sport.
Smith, 32, fired a blemish-free 68 at Woburn Golf Club to sit six behind record-breaking Mirim Lee, but still very well placed at T6 after round one. It did get a little bit exhausted, but I just rested on my days off, Monday and Tuesday, a little bit more than normal.
“I think the difference is that now I’m trying to have fun”, Lee said.
“I like when I have no driver in my bag because I feel more comfortable, I can hit 2-iron and 3-wood off all the tee”, she said of Woburn’s Marquess course.
In a jovial reference to the leading player in the men’s game, Ko said: “Not as good as Jason Day [who made seven birdies in eight holes at the US PGA Championship on Friday], but that was a really good stretch”.
South Korea will have the biggest representation of all competing nations with four players ranked inside the top nine, but the vagaries of golf and the depth of worldwide talent in the women’s game make confident predictions hard.
The top-ranked Ko was tied for 27th at three under after shooting 69.
Four-times major victor Rory McIlroy caused controversy during the men’s British Open at Royal Troon two weeks ago when he said “I didn’t get into golf to get other people in the game”.
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“It was a bit pointless, but it’s stuff that you’ve got to deal with”, Hull said.
