Lydia Ko shots 10-under 62, leads LPGA Tour finale
NAPLES, Fla. — Lydia Ko shot a tournament-record 10-under 62 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the CME Group Tour Championship, putting the top-ranked New Zealander in position to win the player of the year award with a victory Sunday.
Ko birdied four of the first six holes and had seven birdies and a bogey on the back nine to get to 12-under 132 in the season finale. Ryann O’Toole (67) and So Yeon Ryu (68) were tied for second, and Sei Young Kim (68) and Beatriz Recari (68) followed at 8 under.
“Going into today definitely my goal wasn’t the 62,” said Ko, the 2014 winner at Tiburon Golf Club. “The first three holes made great birdies. I was going in with really good momentum, and I was able to carry that for pretty much the rest of my round. I think I was putting good, so if I was within a distance that I felt comfortable I felt like, ‘Hey, I could hole this.’”
Ko needs a victory to top Ariya Jutanugarn in the player of the year race, and also would take the season points title and $1 million bonus with a win. The points in the CME Globe standings were reset for the finale, so Ko, Jutanugarn and Canada’s Brooke Henderson all control their destinies.