Resurgent Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko is within touching distance of the leaders after the first round of the Women's British Open at Royal Troon on Friday (NZ time).
In blustery Scottish conditions, Ko finished in a tie for 14th after a one-over-par 72 round, which sees her five r shots off the lead, held by American Amy Olsen who was one of three golfers to have an under par round.
For Ko, the 23-year-old got off to a rough start and at one stage was three over with bogeys on the first, sixth and 12th holes. Back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th saw her move up the leaderboard, before another bogey on the penultimate hole.
Ko finished the day on a positive note with a birdie on the 18th.
"It was a challenging day but nice to finish off with a birdie," she says. "It's incredibly tough but I felt like I played really solid and I kept it in play which is going to be important all week not only just in the wind."
Ko's hasn't won a tournament since April 2018, but she's starting to discover the form which saw her once ranked top of women's golf.
Two weeks ago, she finished tied for second at the Marathon Classic in Ohio, but did hold a five-shot lead with six holes to play, while last week she finished in a tie for 12th at the Scottish Open.
