It’s all about the putting for world amateur No.1 Lydia Ko as she targets a top performance at the New Zealand Women’s Open beginning at Clearwater near Christchurch on Friday.
Ko, ranked 38th in the professional standings, is contesting her fourth Open and says her chances of success depend largely on how well she’s able to nail her putts.
“I think, for all courses, putting is a huge part in shooting low scores,” she told media on Wednesday.
“I’ve been struggling with that, but hopefully a few will go in. You’ve got to be pretty accurate as well, especially when the wind gets up, in controlling your ball flight in the wind.”
She arrived in Christchurch a week ago, and has been working hard at learning the ins and outs at Clearwater ever since.
“For me, it’s all about putting. Yesterday in the wind, downhill putts were pretty impossible to get close to the hole.
“It’s just about getting the green speed right – you’ve got to be aggressive in some ways, but also just keep going to your plan.”
Ko, 15, goes into the Open in excellent form, after finishing second in the NSW Open two weeks ago.
It’s her first time at Clearwater, and she opted to miss last week’s Australian Ladies Masters so she could fit in a full week’s practice as she looks for a top finish in New Zealand’s premier women’s event.
“It’s a big event, but I’ve never performed as good as I wanted to (at the NZ Open). I think I played the best when I was about 12 or something,” she said.
“It’s a pretty important tournament to me, especially because I’m a New Zealander and this is our national open.”
Ko’s best performance came in 2011, as a 13-year-old, when she finished in a tie for fourth, improving on the tie for seventh she recorded the previous year.
Last year, a disappointing final round nudged her down to an overall share of 17th.
Although defending champion Lindsey Wright of Australia has withdrawn with injury, Ko faces three previous winners in France’s Gwladys Nocera (2009), Laura Davies of England (2010) and Australian Kristie Smith (2011).
