Lydia Ko nearly aced the par-4 15th at the Honda LPGA Thailand on Friday. The LPGA Hall of Famer pulled out driver on the 255-yard reachable par 4 and watched it bound up toward the hole, coming to a stop about 3 feet away. The hole is listed at 320 yards, but the tee was moved up for the second round.
“Yeah, like I needed to hit a really good one to get around the front,” said Ko. “I got a member’s bounce, a firm bounce off the downslope. Ended up being perfect.”
The eagle helped push Ko into a share of third after a bogey-free 64, four strokes back of leader Somi Lee, who shot 61. The Kiwi played alongside home crowd favorite Jeeno Thitikul, who was serenaded all day en route to a 63.
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“My ball-striking is something that we’ve been trying to dial down, and especially my iron play,” said Ko. “I think I had like my worst iron greens in regulation stats these past couple years, so that was something that was really high on my attention list. It’s been a while since I hit 16 greens, so definitely nice to come off with a round like that.”
Ko ranked 113th in greens hit in regulation last season. She was 49th the year prior.
Playing in Thailand for the first time in three years, Ko had the umbrella and ice pack out trying to beat the heat. The heat index in Pattaya exceeded 100 degrees well before noon.
Ko will defend her title next week in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, also noted for its steamy weather near the equator.
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This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Lydia Ko almost made a hole-in-one on par 4 at Honda LPGA Thailand
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