New Zealand teenage sensation Lydia Ko produced some of the best golf of her young career on Saturday, posting an eight-under-par 64 to head the field at the women’s NSW Open.
Ko, runner up at this event last year, is 11-under for the tournament having posted nine birdies and an eagle to claim a four-stroke lead from Lindsey Wright, who shot six-under in the second round at Oatlands on Saturday.
It means the 14-year-old remains on course to become the youngest winner of a women’s professional tournament.
Ko, who turns 15 on April 24, would comfortably take the title from Amy Yang, who won the Australian Ladies Masters aged 16 and 192 days.
“If I play like I have today and yesterday, I’m pretty confident (I can become the youngest winner),” Ko, who was seven-under after the front nine but never entertained the thought of breaking 60, told reporters.
“Golf … you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“You can make bogeys the next nine holes. You don’t really know and I was pretty lucky. I played nearly perfect golf on the front nine.
“I think I was 99.9 per cent today.”
On this course last year, the then 13-year-old Ko was within sight of victory before she three-putted the 18th, resulting in a double bogey causing her to lose to Caroline Hedwall by one stroke.
That day, she finished the tournament at 10-under – a score which she has already bettered with a day to play this year.
Now 14, slightly taller and considerably wiser, Ko is showing maturity and composure beyond her years to show up a field that includes former World No.1 Laura Davies, Australian Open hopeful Melissa Davies and Australian leading lights Katherine Hull, Rachel Bailey and Nikki Garrett.
Earlier, Wright had claimed the clubhouse lead with a bogey-free round, before watching it melt away under Ko’s hot streak.
Wright, who reached a high of 12th in the world in 2009 before two disappointing seasons, hopes to turn over a new leaf in 2012, and has already posted a top-20 finish at the Victorian Open and a top ten at the Canberra Ladies Classic last week.
She said aggression was the key to her best round in more than two years.
“I played at the flag, aggressive,” she told reporters after her round.
“My shots didn’t leave the flag. Everything was for birdie today.
“I wasn’t trying to scrape around to save par which I’ve been doing for so long.”
Overnight co-leaders Rachel Bailey and Karen Lunn failed to capitalise on their strong opening days, with Lunn dropping five shots while Bailey stayed even at four-under-par to remain in contention on Sunday.
