STATUS Ko? Not quite. There was a girl named Ko at the top of the Ricoh Women’s British Open leaderboard on day three at turbulent Turnberry but perhaps not the one most folk would have expected.
Lydia Ko, the world No 2 and teenage superstar from New Zealand, is bouncing about in the upper echelons but it’s South’s Korea’s Jin-Young Ko who is sharing the lead heading into the final round of the penultimate Major on the women’s calendar. The Seoul sisters continue to rock all over the world, it seems.
It was one of those typically bewildering Scottish days that would have had Met Office experts flinging in their resignation letters in wild abandon. Rain, wind, sun, a bit more rain; nothing is ever straightforward when it comes to golf in the game’s cradle.
Ko, 20, harnessed the conditions like a seasoned links veteran, not someone who is making their debut in a Major championship in this most challenging of environments. Her three-under 69 for an eight-under 208 left her in a tie at the top with Taiwan’s Teresa Lu, while Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, the world No 7 and overnight leader, lurks menacingly just a stroke behind.
Ko may have taken the transition from the Far East to the Ayrshire coast in her stride but there has been plenty of canny, local knowledge to aid the cause. She has hired the services of Girvan caddie Jeff Brighton for this week’s championship and the alliance continues to reap considerable rewards.
“Jeff talked me through my round and I have to attribute every shot to him,” said Ko. “We looked at a few caddies and we thought he was the best guy, and he is. He has helped me every day after I played only one practice round on Wednesday. This is my first time in Scotland and you get all the seasons in one day – sun, wind and rain. I had not played in wind before and it’s really different.”
Ko may be a raw recruit when it comes to the Major arena but she is a four-time winner on the Korean Ladies Tour. She also has a handy mentor in the shape of compatriot Inbee Park, the world No 1. Park, a five-time Major winner who is aiming for the career Grand Slam this week, is still in the hunt having posted a 69 to sit three off the lead with a 211 but Ko is hoping to scupper the ambitions of a player who continues to be a great inspiration to her.
“When I was growing up I watched Inbee and she was an inspiration,” said Ko, who bolstered her clamber up the leaderboard with a burst of birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh. “She gave me motivation to want to succeed and she has since given me a lot of advice. I like Inbee a lot. She is a very good person and a great motivator. Now if I win my life will change forever.”
Sitting alongside Ko at the head of affairs is Lu, a 27-year-old who has six wins on the Japan Ladies Golf Tour on her CV including the 2013 Mizuno Classic which is co-sanctioned with the main LPGA circuit. Her 69 included three birdies in five holes from the third as she upped the ante in her bid for a maiden major crown.
Pettersen, who emerged from Friday’s boisterous second round with a two-shot advantage, leaked two shots on her front nine but she salvaged the situation with gains at the 10th and 11th as the 34-year-old from Oslo stayed in the race for a second Major title.
The other Ko, meanwhile, is not out of the running. It was an eventful day for Lydia and a double-bogey on the first was not the ideal way to begin. A haul of five birdies on a testing day led to a level-par 72 and a share of fifth place with Park and Australia’s Minjee Lee, who became the latest teenager to win on the LPGA Tour when she claimed the Kingsmill Championship in May.
England’s Mel Reid, a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, leads the British challenge after a late flourish hoisted her up into a share of eighth on 212. Like Ko, Reid also opened with a six on the first but the 27-year-old from Derby rallied and an eagle on the 17th and a birdie on the last gave her an inward half of 31 and a three-under 69.
Round of the day came from Amy Boulden of Wales who under- lined her fondness for the links game with a spirited 68. Boulden, who won the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open up the Ayrshire coast at Troon in 2012, sits in 10th on 213.
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