Olympic champ Lydia Ko three behind leaders at LPGA BMW event in South Korea after first day

Seoul – Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko shot a five-under 67 on Oct 17 to finish three shots off the lead after the first round of the LPGA BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

The New Zealander triumphed at the Paris Olympics in early August and ended an eight-year Major drought at the Women’s British Open at St Andrews two weeks later.

The 27-year-old had five birdies and no bogeys at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju to stay within striking distance of the leading trio of South Korean Jenny Shin, Australian Hannah Green and South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai.

South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran was one shot behind after a 65.

The first round proved to be an extremely tight affair, with 11 players at five under – a reflection of the tournament’s star-studded field, which is packed with eight of the LPGA Tour’s top 10 players. It also comprises 17 of the 18 winners this season on the tour, with only world No. 1 Nelly Korda not taking part due to a neck injury.

Ko, the 2022 champion, said she was satisfied after a “solid” start at the no-cut event.

“I didn’t really put myself in that many difficult positions,” said the world No. 3, who also won the LPGA Queen City Championship in September.

“This is kind of a golf course where if you hit the ball well, you can set up and give yourself a lot of birdie opportunities.”

Ko, who was born in South Korea before moving to New Zealand when she was four, said she also “left a lot of putts out there”.

“But I think it’s because I hit like 16 or 17 greens. So it’s always a good place to be at, and just overall a good start to this event,” she added.

Defending champion Minjee Lee matched Ko’s 67 to be tied for 11th place.

The leaders all posted rounds that featured eight birdies and no bogeys. Green, the world No. 8, said it was “nice to play some simple golf”.

“Last week in China, I just had a very mixed scorecard, made some bigger numbers, and just to go bogey-free was really nice but it also helps when you hit 18 greens. I think I only missed one fairway,” she said.

World No. 2 Lilia Vu of the United States finished tied-56th on 71, while two-time Major winner Yuka Saso carded a 69.

Meanwhile, in the wake of a social media uproar over ticket prices for the next Ryder Cup, the championship director at the PGA of America, who will oversee the event at Bethpage Black in September 2025, noted the increased demand and likened the event to a Game 7 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

“We view ourselves as a tier-one event that’s on par with a World Series, or with an NBA Finals Game 7. That was a part of it. So when we look at pricing, we’re able to tap into data from all these different venues,” Bryan Karns said on Oct 16 on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.

Karns also defended the prices, which range from US$255 (S$335) for a practice session to US$750 for a day of competition at the Ryder Cup in Farmingdale, New York, as a potential “bucket list” event for fans.

“We’re able to see, ‘What do people pay?’ So that really drove this, too. Again, our position in this landscape – where do we see ourselves?” Karns said.

“I think that’s the reality. There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way that someone would have a Yankees opening game World Series on their bucket list.

“Ultimately, we felt like that’s where we are. The demand is at an all-time high for this event, so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately.”

The ticket prices for the Ryder Cup include non-alcoholic drink vouchers and unlimited food. AFP, REUTERS