Lydia Ko struggled to light up the Olympic Golf Course once again overnight with a quiet round of one under par.
With just two birdies and a bogey, the world number one has lost distance on the leaders and now sits seven shots behind Inbee Park. It is clear Kos putter is cold this week with many putts burning the edges throughout the first two rounds.
"I hit my tee shots really well but it's disappointing when you are not holing many putts out there," said Ko.
"I made good birdies on 15 and 16 to make me under par for the day, but when you are not holing many putts it can get a little frustrating."
Ko still remains positive leading into the final two rounds, but is also realistic about the challenge that now lies in front of her.
"The big key for me is to stay confident and focus on the shot in front of me. At the end of the day, all I can do is my best."
"I feel there's a lot of golf still to play. I know there's a lower number than what I have shot the last two days and hopefully that comes soon."
The 19 year old has been struggling to start well throughout her Olympic campaign and this needs to change for her to have a chance at Olympic glory.
"I've been playing the front nine over both days and when the girls are shooting low numbers, going into the back nine trying to make up for it is hard. I have to play the front nine a little better. If I put myself in a better position it puts less pressure on me going into the back nine."
As we hit the halfway stage, Ko is certainly not where she wants to be, but its now moving day and its her time to shine. This wont be easy with the class that has riddled the top of the leaderboard, starting with the obvious Inbee Park (KOR). The former world number one hasnt won in a long time and is well on track for gold this week.
Hot on her tails are Stacy Lewis (USA), Charley Hull (GBR) and Brooke Henderson who form an intimidating chasing pack.
Throw in a third round 63 from New Zealands Lydia Ko and it will be an exciting gold medal race.
Fox and Lee Back on Top
Straight from Rio Ryan Fox and Danny Lee are back in action this weekend. Fox is continuing his superb European Challenge Tour form as he looks certain to lock away his full exemption on the biggest and best, the European Tour.
Fox is currently in a tie for fourth at the Rolex Trophy with rounds of 69 and 65 to sit just one shot back. His sensational second round included seven birdies and zero bogeys, which when looking at a traditional Fox scorecard is hard to come by.
Full Leaderboard: http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/season=2016/tournamentid=2016754/leaderboard/index.html
Danny Lee has also brought the heat back from Rio and has gone five under in the first round of the Wyndham Championship to hold a position of tied third.
Lees round of 65 has him just two shots behind the leader Rafa Cabrera Bello. He opened his account with four birdies on the front nine and in a row. From holes five to eight, the Greensboro locals were witnessing something special.
Great to see New Zealands two Olympians have got straight back on the boat and are performing on the world stage once again.
Tim Wilkinson put together a solid, yet inconsistent round recording four birdies, but his three bogeys dropped him down to a tie for 55th.
Full Leaderboard: http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Golf NZ
Ko's putter cold
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