Golf: Kiwi Lydia Ko eyes another chance at LPGA Hall of Fame entry at Ford Championship
Kiwi Lydia Ko has created another opportunity to gain entry to the LPGA Hall of Fame, lurking in fifth equal halfway through the Ford Championship at Gilbert, Arizona.Needing just one more tournament win to seal her place in women’s golf history, the world No.8 lies three shots behind Australian leader Hannah Green after two rounds at the Seville Country Club.
Ko lay tied for 52nd – with Green – after a three-under-par opening round of 69, but on a second day of low scores, she surged up the leaderboard with 64, featuring eight birdies and no bogeys. She had back-to-back birdies on the fouth and fifth, then again at the seventh and eighth to keep her momentum throughout the round.
Green was even more impressive, shooting 61 and birdying the last six holes to take a one-shot lead over American Sarah Schmelzel and Taiwanese Peiyun Chien. Korean Hyo Joo Kim and Spaniard Azahara Munoz are tied for fourth on 12 under, while Ko shares sixth with German Caroline Masson and first-round leader Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand.
A brutal cutline was set at five-under for the weekend. Ko currently sits second the LPGA Championship standings, after winning the season-opening Tournament of Champions and second in a playoff at the Drive On Championship seven days later. Earlier this month, she shared the lead into the final round at the Blue Bay LPGA in China, but slipped away over the closing stages to finish fourth.
