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Lydia Ko remains four strokes behind the leader at ANA Inspiration in California after a second round of “roller coaster”.
The Kiwi golfer charged an eagle on the 11th hole par five, after a whopping 290 meters downwind, but struggled with consistency during a bumpy day at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage on Saturday (NZT) .
He combined the eagle and five birdies and four bogeys to sign a 69 of 3 below zero to improve a position in the first major of the year.
Ko, the 2016 ANA Inspiration champion, is on a six-tie for sixth at five under par overall, four shots behind the leader, Thai Patty Tavatanakit.
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“I’ve been on this roller coaster since last week,” Ko said. “The good thing is, I’m doing a lot of birdies to make up for the bogeys I’ve been doing.
“But I think I’ve been trying not to get too into my head when I’ve made mistakes. You know, I just try to stay positive and say, hey, if I have nine holes left, I have nine birdie chances.
Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images
Lydia Ko improved one position overall to place in the top six after an inconsistent second round.
“I was lucky to have a good comeback after a mistake that made the pace pick up.
“A lot of birdie-bogeys or bogey-birdies, but I hope I can cut down on some of those more awkward mistakes and still have fun.”
Ko was one more in his round as he headed to the 11th hole, the eagle started an impressive lap nine.
“I’ve been hitting my drive well, and then I hit some stinky shots on my last holes of the first nine holes. So I was like, ‘you know what, this wind is out to the right and down.’ I’m going to aim well and hit him hard.
“Les (caddy) said, ‘Hey, you hit him 318 (yards), so I was really excited about that. I did a dubious hybrid shot, but it ended up working. I hit 15 feet and it was probably the closest I could hit that hole and I could make that putt.
“Definitely going over par, that changes the pace for me, and then birdie the next hole. He is a major. It’s not easy out there. So you just have to go ahead and hit one shot at a time and see where that takes me. “
