LYDIA Ko Back in the Mix At the HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP IN SINGAPORE

Following Tough Start to LA OPEn Lydia Improved her play IN Singapore To Stay in Contention

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      After a disappointing start in LA two weeks ago, Lydia Ko bounced back with a strong performance at the HSBC Women’s World Championship last week.
     Improving her score all four rounds in Singapore Ko finished the championship tied for seventh at 11 under par.
     This followed a tough start to the LA Open the week prior where Ko ended the first round tied for 134th at seven over par.
     After a “rough day” in LA during the first round, Ko said she believed she “played solid the second day” – though she did not make the cut.
     This gave her a few days extra rest – something she said she needed following her victory in Hawaii.
     Ko finished the Lotte Championship in Hawaii at 28 under par – seven strokes better than her nearest opponent – dominating the field in the final round.
     “In Hawaii I felt like I was really good so I was setting myself up a lot of good birdie opportunities and I think overall I was driving it well. Everything was clicking,” she told reporters at the start of the HSBC Championship last week. 
     In Hawaii Ko said she kept telling herself to trust her training.
     What clicked in Hawaii fell apart in LA - where she had a tough first day.
     While being in contention during the final stretch of a tournament can be mentally draining Ko said she does not believe that was what caused her difficulties in LA. 
     “We all have good days and bad days. My bad day was just on that Wednesday,” she explained. “I just wasn’t clicking. To be honest I haven’t played well at that course before.”

     Following LA, Ko took a 17 ½ hour flight to Singapore – sleeping 13 hours on the plane.
     “I tired myself out with a seven mile hike,” before the flight she recalled.
     The remaining four hours on the plane she spent watching a movie and the TV show "Chopped."
​     Having arrived in Singapore Ko said she felt good about her chances at the HSBC Championship.
     “I feel like I’m still coming in with good momentum and winning at Hawaii definitely built the confidence in me to say, ‘Hey. You know I can be back in the winning circle.’ [It's] great to be in that position again,” she told reporters.
     After the first round in Singapore, Ko finished tied for 14th at three under par. By the second she had climbed to seventh place at seven under.
     The following round she continued her climb to fifth place at ten under par.
     Going into the tournament Ko said she did not believe the heat would play a factor.
​     “The best way to describe it is like going to a sauna and you don’t have to pay,” she joked.
     Everybody she said has to deal with the heat. “The more you play, the more I think you get used to it.”

           -By Shawn R. Dagle Women's Pro Golf Editor/Reporter
           Published May 5, 2021