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Inaugural LPGA event has perfect pair in the lead entering final round: Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko
Would you blame all the other LPGA events for being jealous of the inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship? With the final round set for Saturday at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club in Indianapolis, the tournament has two of the game’s bright stars tied for the lead in Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko at 15 under.
That Thompson finds herself atop the leader board is no surprise. Since the disappointment of controversial loss at the ANA Inspiration, she has a win and five top-10 finishes in 10 starts, with no missed cuts, allowing her to grab the lead in the tour’s season-long Race to the CME Globe points standings. The 22-year-old continued her solid play with an opening-round 63 on Thursday, followed by a bogey-free 66 on Friday, as she tries to win her ninth career title.
“I was just trying to go out with the same mindset I did yesterday and make sure I did my routine and commit to my golf shots,” said Thompson, who posted the lowest 36-hole score of her LPGA career at 15-under 129.
Ko, on the other hand, has struggled for much of 2017 as she has adjusted to a new coach, new caddie and new equipment. She fell from the No. 1 ranking in June, and has had a top-10 finish in a LPGA event since June. In her last three starts, she’s missed the cut twice and finished T-59 at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. But having failed to post a sub-70 score since July, Ko shot a 65-64 to grab a share of the lead entering the final round of an LPGA event for the first time since the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open.
“I’ve just enjoyed kind of being in this position and being able to hit some good shots and give myself good looks at birdie,” said Ko, who has 15 career LPGA wins but hasn’t been victorious in more than a year. “When you start doing that, it just builds your confidence.”
Trailing Thompson and Ko by one is Candie Kung, who’ll play with them in the final threesome on Saturday. U.S. Solheim Cup team members Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas are five and six strokes back.