RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – World No. 1 Jin Younger Ko opened along with her first over-par spherical in eight months to take a seat effectively off the tempo on Day 1 of the Chevron Championship.
Ko carded a 2-over-par 74 on Thursday to finish a file streak of 34 consecutive rounds beneath par, courting again to July. The 2-time main champion pointed to her placing because the supply of her struggles in Spherical 1, evidenced by the 34 putts she wanted to get round Mission Hills Nation Membership.
“I couldn’t see the break as much or speed, everything was wrong,” Ko mentioned. “I don’t know what happened.”
Mission Hills has been a conundrum for Ko. Previous to profitable in 2019, she hadn’t completed higher than T-71. Final yr, she admitted to not liking the golf course earlier than she received. And on Thursday, her ambivalence in the direction of the venue introduced an finish to her run of rounds beneath par. The streak ended only one week after her file stretch of 16 consecutive rounds within the 60s was halted by a second-round 71 on the JTBC Traditional in Carlsbad, California.
Full-field scores from the Chevron Championship
Forward of her season debut, Ko instructed GolfChannel.com that she was nonetheless apprehensive concerning the left wrist damage she had been dealing with since final yr. However when she received in her first begin on the HSBC Ladies’s World Championship in February, that appeared to reply any questions on her bodily situation. Nonetheless, when Ko arrived stateside for the JTBC Traditional, her left wrist was taped. Ko mentioned it was strictly precautionary and he or she had it taped once more for this week’s main championship.
When Ko’s streak of rounds within the 60s got here to an finish final Friday, Ko mentioned she would reasonably have been on the seaside than taking part in golf. She opted to relaxation after her placing struggles on Thursday, reasonably than apply.
It was 12 months in the past, forward of the Chevron Championship, that Ko misplaced her beloved grandmother, who was in South Korea whereas Ko was within the U.S., unable to journey due to the pandemic. The loss weighed closely on Ko, but in addition turned a supply of inspiration as Ko received 5 occasions within the latter half of the yr. Ko has her mother and father on web site this week at Mission Hills.
With a pair of LPGA information having concluded over the past two weeks, Ko would possibly really feel unburdened the remainder of the best way on the Chevron. She’s eight pictures off the lead, so she’ll want to start out one other sub-par run to be in rivalry on Sunday, or simply make the minimize.
