Ko turns in solid first round

New Zealander Lydia Ko shot a solid first round of 70 when the Olympic women’s golf tournament got under way today.

Ko, the silver medallist in Rio, was progressing smoothly at 2 under when she reached the par 4 11th and recorded a double bogey.

“It was a terrible hole for me. I kept following one bad shot with another.”

Until then, she’d played well, doing good work with her irons and out of the sand. She had to sink several 2 and 3-metre putts to save par, but did so calmly. When she put together back-to-back birdies at the 7th and 8th she looked to be really firing.

“That double bogey killed all the gas in the momentum I had. On a course like this, if you are out of position have you to be patient and play smart.”

A birdie on the par 5 14th got her to 1 under par again and that’s how she stayed, though she’ll be kicking herself for missing a 2-metre putt on the last.

Overall, Ko seemed fairly optimistic.

“There was some good and some bad stuff. I recovered well many times.

“There are just a few clumsy things, a few mistakes I should not be making, that need to be tidied up.”

She said she set out with an aggressive intent. “There are only three medals at stake and you have to go after it sometimes.”

It was extremely hot today and Ko played in the middle of the day, when the temperature was in the high 30s and humid, too.

“The optimal time of the day to play is early in the morning,” she said, “but that’s also the time when I play bad. I’d rather play in the afternoon and deal with the heat. These are the summer Games, after all.”

Ko mentioned several times how proud she was to be representing New Zealand at the Olympics.

“Playing at Rio, and winning a medal, was one of the highlights of my life, not just my golf career. I don’t get home very often, but I feel a lot of support coming from home and I want to play well for my country.”

After the first day, the tournament was led by Swede Magdelene Sagstrom of Sweden, who shot a 5 under 66.

Several big names were lurking near the top of the leaderboard, including Nelly Korda of the US with a 66 and defending champion Inbee Park, 69.