Lydia Ko in tie for 13th after even-par first round at Paris Olympics
Lydia Ko sunk a 19-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to finish in a tie for 13th after the opening round of the women’s golf tournament at the Paris Olympics. The Kiwi world No 22 was one of a group of 13 golfers who shot even-par in their first rounds at Le Golf National.
A double-bogey on the par-four 15th knocked Ko back from one-under to one-over, but she recovered with the birdie on the last. French world No 7 Celine Boutier was the early leader, shooting seven-under to sit three shots clear of South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, who shot four-under.
No-one else did better than two-under on a trying day. Reigning gold medallist and world No 1 Nelly Korda was one of those tied with Ko at even-par. Ko began her day with a bogey on the par-four first, then birdie the par-three fifth and par-three eighth to be one-under at the turn.
A second bogey came on the par-four 10th, but was cancelled out by a birdie on the par-four 13th. Ko tees off at 8.11pm on Thursday (NZ time) in her second round.
