Lydia Ko has another chance at history on Sunday at the Blue Bay LPGA in the People’s Republic of China. Through three rounds at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, the 26-year-old is currently tied for the lead at 12-under alongside Americans Sarah Schmelzel and Bailey Tardy and has an opportunity to collect her 21st career victory during the final round, which would earn her the 27th point necessary for automatic qualification into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
After picking up three points with her victory at the 2022 CME Group Tour Championship – a win that helped her secure both the Vare Trophy and Rolex Player of the Year honors – Ko entered the 2023 LPGA Tour season with 25 total Hall of Fame points, two away from automatically qualifying. But a difficult, winless year on the LPGA Tour left Ko still needing two points to accomplish the feat at the end of the season, something she has worked to rectify quickly as the calendar turned to 2024.
The New Zealand native raced out of the gates at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, winning by two shots over Alexa Pano with a four-day total of 14-under at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, of which she is a member. Ko then nearly backed that performance up with another victory at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club, ultimately falling to Bradenton, Fla., native Nelly Korda in a two-hole playoff to finish solo second.
Now, with just one point standing between her and immortalization in the LPGA Hall of Fame, Ko will need to recreate the round she had on Saturday in the People’s Republic of China if she wants to outlast her co-leaders and stave off late runs from the chasers. She opened with rounds of 68 and 70 at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course and then caught fire on Moving Day, carding one bogey, five birdies and an eagle to post a third-round 6-under 66, her lowest score ever in her three total starts at the Blue Bay LPGA.
“I played really well on the front nine again like I did yesterday. Not often that you're 3-under through three two days straight,” said Ko, who eagled two and birdied three on Friday. “To be able to make a good pitch, chip-in eagle on 3 was definitely a good momentum-booster. Didn't put myself in that many odd places, and I feel like you can do that quite easily around here. Hopefully, more of that tomorrow.”
This is the 20th time since she became an LPGA Tour member in 2014 that Ko has held the 54-hole lead or co-lead, and in the 19 times she’s previously done so, Ko has gone on to win 10 events, most recently doing so at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. According to KPMG Performance Insights, her final-round scoring average is 70.5 but is 68.8 when she has managed to pull out a victory, a statistic that shows just how heavily the odds are leaning in Ko’s favor on Sunday at the Blue Bay LPGA.
Having accomplished pretty much everything that a player can in her 11 years on Tour, Ko is more than used to coming up clutch in the biggest moments. So, with another chance at a 21st victory and with the LPGA Hall of Fame staring her right in the eye as the final round in the People’s Republic of China looms large, Ko is leaning into this latest opportunity to add another accolade to her impressive career resume, one that would permanently memorialize her as one of the most prestigious female golfers ever to play the game.
“After last year, I wasn't really sure how this year was going to go,” said Ko. “To be able to win with Jason (Day) in the (Grant Thornton Invitational) in 2023 was a good bit of a confidence booster because I had lost a lot of it during the season. To be able to win the first event on the schedule, especially at my home club, meant a lot.
“Still a lot of golf to be played, and it seems like someone shoots a really low score at least one of the rounds. We all know the pin positions dictate the scores, so I just got to stay patient and keep giving myself good looks and see where that puts me.”
)
)
)
)
