Lydia Ko is right in the mix for a second LPGA Tour title of the season, after another hot round at the Volunteers of America Classic in Texas.
Starting the day in eighth spot, five shots off the pace, following her sizzling five-under 66 second round, the New Zealand world No 5 backed that up with a four-under 67 on Sunday (NZ time) to head into the final round at the Old American Golf Club tied for second, just one stroke back.
Ko started moving day in the right fashion, picking up early shots at holes two and four, and then while faced with a horrible bunker lie at 10, she produced all her class to chip up over the bank onto the green, and putt for par.
She sits alongside Frenchwoman Celine Boutier (66), with the pair just one off the lead, held by China’s Lin Xiyu (69) and England’s Charley Hull (71).
Ko’s round of 67 was the third-lowest of the day (matched by five others), bettered only by Boutier and China’s Ruoning Yin, who sits in 19th after storming back from a first-round 76 to card a 65.
It’s the eighth time this year Ko’s been within five of the lead entering the final round. Since June she has had the most top-10 finishes of any player on tour, with eight in her last 10 starts, seven of which are top-fives.
“It’s a pretty packed leaderboard, and I think when you get into good rhythm, you can kind of make that streak of birdies and keep going,” she said.
“It’s always nice to be in contention, and I think that’s what the ultimate goal is, to be in contention. And whatever happens at the end of the week, you’ve got really no control of the result after that.”
