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Lydia Ko shoot 66 for share of Marathon Classic lead

The Venezuelan Olympic qualifier pumped his fist after finishing with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth on Grand National’s Lake Course. Tied for the first-round lead with Angel Cabrera after a 65, Vegas had a 17-under 125 total – a shot off the PGA Tour record for strokes in the first two rounds.

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“I had a ideal number, 190 yards is my seven-iron”. To be honest, I struggled fairly a lot for the past like about four months.

“It was just a great feeling, seeing that ball go in”, he added.

Vegas played a six-hole stretch on his first nine in 7 under.

“It’s a lot of pressure”, he said.

“At the same time, you just want to shoot as low as you can”.

Japan’s Harukyo Nomura surrendered her share of the overnight lead and dropped into a tie for eighth after the second round of the Marathon Classic on Friday. He finished with an even par 71 that left him 11 adrift.

Swafford’s 63 included an eagle and eight birdies to balance a double-bogey.

“Saw Jhonny Vegas shot 60 today, that’s unbelievable”, Swafford said. “Still today, I played great”.

Ko fired a final round 69 in the Marathon Classic, missing a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th for victory, sending her into a playoff with South Korea’s Mirim Lee and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn after the trio all finished at 14-under after the regulation 72 holes on Monday (NZ time).

Nomura won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her first LPGA Tour title and took the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April in California.

The 19 year-old let her lead slip with bogeys on the par-three 14th and par-four 16th. Jutanugarn had a good chance on the second playoff hole, but missed an 8-footer.

Ko shot a bogey-free 4-under 67, which was highlighted by a string of three straight birdies to end her front nine.

“I played pretty good”, Jutanugarn said.

This is the second time in two years that it has taken extra holes to determine a victor.

“I think I had a few more looks for birdies and a few that made a decision to drop”.

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“I knew the course conditions were going to be a little bit softer and easier in the morning with the big rain last night and just because it was in the a.m.”, Henderson said.

LI's Kelly Shon shoots 67 to contend in LPGA Marathon Classic