Scottish Open: Lydia Ko rebounds from early struggles to remain in contention for final round

Lydia Ko has brushed off a tough front nine of her third round at the ISPS Handa Scottish Open to remain in title contention heading into the final round.

Bogeys on the second and fourth holes gave the Olympic champion some work to do to re-establish a position with the leaders and Ko responded with three birdies to card a one-under 71 to be seven-under for the tournament.

With conditions remaining cold and blustery, the field is likely to remain tight at the top so Ko needed to rebound after dropping those two shots early.

A birdie on the par-four ninth hole kickstarted the comeback and was followed by birdies on 11 and 14 as the world number 12 completed a bogey-free back nine holes. She will go into the fourth round just five shots back of leader Lauren Coughlin - who scored a six-under 66 to rocket up the leaderboard and into an outright lead.

That birdie on nine was particularly important after Ko left a few earlier birdie putts short. Ko said after her round she was pleased with her response and to remain under par for the day after a challenging front nine.

“I missed a couple [of] short ones early in my round today, and then I just wasn’t holing kind of the midrange birdie opportunities, but nice to turn with a birdie on nine. I hit I think every green apart from one on the back nine.

“So I was never too far off. But yeah, it was just kind of one of those like average days where I didn’t get a lot going but good to kind of turn it around, a couple over par, to finishing under par for the day.“

It will be business as usual for Ko, who is no stranger to heading into a final round in contention.

“Honestly just the same as the other days. Just hit a couple [of] balls and a few putts. Just kind of get out of the cold. I don’t think there’s a huge point in hitting a lot of balls, especially in the wind,” Ko said.

There has been little time to ponder her achievement at the Olympics as New Zealand’s top golfer is using the Scottish Open to prepare for next week’s Women’s Open at the Old Course at St Andrews.

Ko said it’s certainly been a strain on the body and the mind, but she knows if she is to achieve the goal she has set of winning another major title keeping those energy levels high is par for the course.

“It is a long week, so it can get draining. So I’m sure by some point next week, I’m going to be tired but I think that’s part of my job to keep my energy levels high and make sure that I’m still feeling fresh for Thursday to Sunday next week as well.”

Ko will tee off at 9.38pm on Sunday (NZT) with the aim to improve on her best placing of third at this event as she eyes the Old Course next week.