Olympic champ Ko three behind leaders at LPGA in South Korea

SEOUL: Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko shot a five-under-par 67 on Thursday to finish three shots off the lead after the first round of the LPGA BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

The New Zealander triumphed at the Paris Olympics and ended an eight-year major drought at the Women´s British Open at St Andrews two weeks later. The 27-year-old shot five birdies and no bogeys at Seowon Valley Country Club to stay within striking distance of leading trio Jenny Shin, Hannah Green and Ashleigh Buhai.

Ko, the 2022 champion, said she was satisfied after a “solid” start. “I didn´t really put myself in that many difficult positions,” said Ko, who also won the LPGA Queen City Championship in Los Angeles last month.

“This is kind of a golf course where if you hit the ball well, you can set up and give yourself a lot of birdie opportunities.” Ko, who was born in South Korea before moving to New Zealand when she was four, said she also “left a lot of putts out there”.

“But I think it´s because I hit like 16 or 17 greens,” she added. “So it´s always a good place to be at, and just overall a good start to this event.” Defending champion Minjee Lee matched Ko with a five-under round.

The leading trio all posted rounds that featured eight birdies and no bogeys. Australia´s Green, the world number eight, said it was “nice to play some simple golf”. “Last week in China I just had a very mixed scorecard, made some bigger numbers, and just to go bogey-free was really nice but it also helps when you hit 18 greens,” she said.

“I think I only missed one fairway.” South Korea´s Ryu Hae-ran was one shot behind the leading pack after a 65. American Lilia Vu, ranked number two in the world, finished the day one-under par. Two-time major winner Yuka Saso was at three-under.