Lydia Ko Enjoying the Experience with a New Caddie and More from Malaysia

The Rolex Ranking’s No.1 golfer Lydia Ko came into this week with a refreshed approach to her on-course strategy, as she’s got a new caddie on the bag.

However, she says it’s been so far, so good.

“It’s been going good. He’s got a lot of experience so we’ve been having a lot of fun out there,” Ko explained.

With the humidity in Kuala Lumpur soaring ever higher, Ko says her caddie was instrumental in keeping her cool throughout her second-round 69. She now sits tied for 23rd, eight shots back of the lead held by South Korea’s Amy Yang.

Ko made two uncharacteristic double-bogeys Thursday, and Friday she made another, hitting it into the water on the par-4 9th. If Ko takes those mistakes out of the equation, she may be challenging for the lead. Instead, she’s got some ground to make up this weekend.

“I kind of find it (the water) on the wrong holes,” admitted Ko. “If I find it on a par five or something, then I’ve got room to deal with. But hitting it in the water, I was struggling to make double on the (ninth).”

However, Ko was happy with her round overall.

“I putted really well today. I gave myself many looks for birdies. A lot of the putts, if they didn’t go in, they were close. So overall it was a really good round,” she said. “That’s not that great to end with a bogey and a double (bogey) on the last two holes, but overall, I think I played more solidly today compared to yesterday, so it’s good signs going into the weekend.”

Candie Kung is a bit of an elder-stateswoman as compared to the teenaged sensations who walk the fairways of the LPGA Tour week-in and week-out. But the 35-year-old, who represented her native Chinese Taipei at the Olympics this summer, proved Friday at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia that she still has some magic left, even though she admitted she nearly gave up the game in 2007.

“I just felt I had had it. But, for some reason, somebody up there was telling me that they gave me the talent and to keep playing golf, and here I am,” she said. “I’m happy to be here and loving it.”

Her second round 7-under-par 65 saw her rocket up the leaderboard into a tie for second, just three shots back of the lead. The exclamation point for Kung was on her final hole of the day when she chipped in for a birdie.

“That was an awesome chip,” she explained. “I saw one went in yesterday when we were finishing off, and today it was my turn.”

Kung contributed here recent successes to a change in her practice regime. She said she has been practicing a lot ‘smarter’ now, and focusing on only the things she needs to work on, as opposed to her entire game, like her short game and putting.

“I’ve been working on that the last couple months, and I think it’s been showing off, and hopefully will continue to go on for the next couple rounds,” explained Kung. “Hopefully, all the way until I finish my career.”

The 1-hour, 41-minute weather delay during the second round of the Sime Darby LPGA impacted Anna Nordqvist a little more than others, as she was on her final hole of the day when the horn blew. However, she took it in stride, had a good chat with some friends and relaxed a bit before two-putting from 50 feet on the final green, to put a cap on a second-round 68.

Nordqvist, who defended her title at the ShopRite LPGA Classic earlier this year, sits tied for second at -7, just three shots back of the Amy Yang’s lead.

“A pretty solid day,” she said. “Just a lot of good shots. I felt like I’ve been playing really consistent out there, and really haven’t had to scramble for any pars these last two days.”

Nordqvist, who represented Sweden at the Olympics this summer, hasn’t missed a cut all season. She sits ninth on the Race to the CME Globe standings, and is hoping to carry over her good play through two rounds into the weekend and challenge for her second title of the year.

“There are a lot of good scores out there. The course is in as good of shape as I’ve seen it. I can only do what I can do, but I feel like I’ve been playing solid and hopefully I can get a couple more putts to drop for the weekend,” she stated.