Golf: New Zealander Lydia Ko in contention as LPGA Ford Championship heads into final round

Carding a two-under in her penultimate round has seen New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko remain well in contention at the LPGA Tour’s Ford Championship heading into the final round.

After a stellar outing in round two saw her score an eight-under 64 to surge up the leaderboard, she remained well in the hunt with a two-under 70 in round three to sit at 13-under for the tournament.

The round saw Ko drop her first shot of the tournament with a bogey on the par-three 17th, but she got it back immediately with her third birdie of the day on 18. She sits in a tie for sixth with nine other golfers, two shots back from leading trio Carlota Ciganda, Hyo Joo Kim and Sarah Schmelzel.

Currently ranked eighth in the world, Ko needs just one more tournament victory to guarantee a spot in the LPGA’s Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think I fall asleep or wake up in a day thinking about the Hall of Fame,” Ko said before the tournament. “I think people around me think about it more than I do.

“To be honest, last year I thought a lot about it, just because you’re so close.

“Being in the Hall of Fame was never really a big goal of mine because I didn’t think that I was maybe capable to be part of those players that are already in the Hall of Fame.

“After such a great year in 22, I think it was the first time I was like, ‘oh, maybe I could be a Hall of Famer’. Obviously, we all know that last year didn’t go as well as I would’ve liked. But, I said before in other interviews, being one point away seems a little easier than two. Sometimes it’s just easier said than done. Some players win for their first time in 10 years. It’s just not that easy.”

On the PGA Tour, fellow Kiwi Ryan Fox struggled in his third round at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, carding a three-over 73 to plummet into a share of 78th.

This week’s tournament was the first time in his last three attempts that Fox had made that cut, which was a step in the right direction as he eyes the Masters at Augusta in two weeks.

In his third round, Fox carded five bogeys and one double, though was able to get a few shots back with four birdies. He sits at four-over for the tournament and is playing for pride in the final round, with leading quintet Scottie Scheffler, Stephan Jager, Alejandro Tosti, David Skinns and Thomas Detry sitting at nine-under.