In contention
Ko two shots off the pace after first round in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Former world No.1s Park In-Bee and Tseng Yani outshone topranked Lydia Ko, 17, as they seized the joint lead on day one of the HSBC Women’s Champions yesterday.
Teenage sensation Ko blamed jetlag and fatigue as she carded four-under-par 68 to lie two shots off Park and Tseng’s 66 at a sun-baked Sentosa Golf Course.
New Zealand’s Ko deposed Park to become the youngest male or female world No.1 last month, but the South Korean boosted her bid to wrest back the ranking with a blemish-free round.
After parring the first eight holes on the trickier front nine, Park kickstarted her round with a birdie on the ninth and soared to the top of the leaderboard with five more birdies on the back nine.
The 26-year-old said: “Today was a really good day. This golf course is a very challenging golf course and I was able to manage myself with a bogey-free round.
“I didn’t play too aggressively on the front nine but wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do,” Park added. “But I was able to make a birdie on nine and that kind of got me started on doing things.
“The back nine was a great nine. I holed a lot of putts, hit great shots. If I can play the back nine like that, it’s going to be a good week.”
She ended the day tied at the top of the leaderboard with Taiwan’s Tseng, who reigned as world No.1 for almost two years between 2011 and 2013 but is now ranked 67th.
Tseng enjoyed a faster start than Park and offset a bogey on the par-four fifth with three birdies on her front nine before going bogey-free down the stretch with four more birdies to join the Korean ahead of the chasing pack.
The 26-year-old Taiwanese dominated women’s golf at the start of the decade, sitting on top of the world rankings for 109 weeks from 2011 before a woeful run of results saw her slip to 90th a fortnight ago prior to her morale-boosting second place finish in Thailand last week.
“Oh, it’s fun... it’s so much fun,” Tseng told reporters of her resurgence. “Like I tell my friends and parents that they don’t have to scroll down to see my name on the website any more. They can see me right on top of the first page.”
Ko started strongly but she looked to be struggling in temperatures which reached 35C, and also blamed jetlag after flying in from New Zealand.
“Yeah I’m tired. A little bit jet-lagged because of the long flight,” said Ko, who lies tied for fourth after the first round. “But I’ve been trying to pace myself, go nine holes and do the least amount of practice.”
Despite the promising signs, Tseng was not thinking too far ahead and remains focused on the present rather than the future. “Yeah, it’s a marathon not a sprint,” she added. “Tomorrow is another new day and I will try to not think too much about Sunday.”
Expectations are sky-high for South Korean-born Ko, who cemented her No.1 status with back-to-back wins in the Australian Open and then the New Zealand Open last weekend.
The HSBC Women’s Champions has produced seven different winners in as many years and holder Paula Creamer has work to do if she is to defend her title.
Creamer finished the opening day in 51st position with a disappointing twoover-par 74, one stroke behind her compatriot and world No.6 Michelle Wie.
American Angela Stanford, who won the competition in 2012, ended the day on five-under-par 67 putting her in third place.