Golf: Ko has solid top-10 finish

A cyst in Lydia Ko's left wrist has caused her trouble lately. Photo / AP

Another tournament, another top-10 finish for Lydia Ko.

This time the Kiwi golfing prodigy claimed a share of eighth place at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia event after she finished with a final round of 70 yesterday.

Ko ended the week at 11-under, seven strokes back from winner Shanshan Feng who shot a stunning eight-under 63 yesterday as she surged to victory.

Ko's latest top-10 finish, which earned a cheque for US$43,483 ($55,000), was her 11th in 21 starts on the LPGA Tour in 2014 and it's only a formality that she will be recognised as the circuit's rookie of the year.

If she did have one regret from the tournament it may have been her final round, that included three birdies and two bogeys, as she wasn't able to score as low as others near the top of the leaderboard.

Her one-under 70 was certainly respectable but the steady round meant she slipped a few places down the leaderboard after beginning the final day in a share of third.

Some of that may have been down to rust given the 17-year-old Ko hadn't played since she finished in a share of eighth at the Evian Championship in France last month.

A cyst in her left wrist has caused her trouble lately but after a sustained period of rest she seems in a good position to play her final stretch of tournaments before the end of the season.

She will eventually need surgery on her wrist but there is no timetable for when she may go under the knife and there's a chance she will continue to manage it with treatment for the foreseeable future.

As she heads for the next few events, Ko said she was pleased with her form.

"I've been hitting the ball pretty well and stroking it well with the putter," she said.

Kiwis Danny Lee and Tim Wilkinson fell down the leaderboard during the third round of the Frys.com Open on the PGA Tour.

Lee carded an even-par 72 yesterday as he dropped to a share of 38th place at four-under for the week, while Wilkinson fired a two-over 74 at the Silverado Resort in California as he drifted to a tie for 71st at one-over. Steven Alker missed the cut.

Korean Sang-Moon Bae leads the tournament at 16 under with American Zachary Blair second at 12 under.