Lydia Ko made her big move on Friday, moving day at the 2016 Olympic women’s golf competition.
On a day when 25-mile-per-hour winds came up in the afternoon, Ko was flawless early with a 29 on her first nine holes, including a hole-in-one at the eighth. It was there that she hit a perfect seven-iron from 140-yards to register the first ace of her career. “It was the first hole-in-one in my life,” Ko verified after she posted the day’s best effort, a six-under par 65 that left her just two shots behind leader Inbee Park.
Park fought her ball-striking all day but made up for it on the greens and finished with a 70 that got her to 11-under par, just a pair of strokes better than Ko and surprise medal contender Gerina Piller of the USA. Piller forged a 68 in the afternoon to put herself in the thick of it going into the final 18.
“It was a struggle out there today,” Park said after she finished a five-plus hour round. “My ball striking was not great at times. Everybody struggled to keep the ball under the wind. I’m happy with where I’m standing,” said the Hall-Of-Fame player from South Korea.
She will play in the final threesome with Piller and Ko.
“It was a tough day,” said Ko, echoing Park’s testimony. “I’m thrilled with the hole-in-one. It was playing real tough on 15 thru 18, normally easier holes but they were into the wind.” Ko had four birdies and the ace over her first nine to shoot 29, first player in the Olympics, man or woman to accomplish that. She buckled down coming in with nine straight pars and was the only player in the field with a bogey-free round, showing why she’s the No. 1 player in the world.
Shanshan Feng’s 68 got her to eight-under, she’s the only player at that number.
I.G. Chun of China (72), Great Britain’s Charley Hull (74) and Amy Yang, South Korea (70) will start the final 18 holes six back of Park.
Seven players are seven back, including Stacy Lewis of the USA who started the day just two back of Park. Lewis ran into back nine problems, finished with a double-bogey at 18 and her 76 dropped her into a tie with six others, including Suzann Pettersen and Brooke Henderson.
Lexi Thompson took herself out of medal contention with a 76 that left her two-over par.
With Lewis fading, Piller emerged as the USA’s best possibility for a medal.
“I have to be all in on every shot,” said Piller, “and believe I can do this.”
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