MAINEVILLE, Ohio — Lydia Ko set a goal for herself and Jeeno Thitikul came close Friday afternoon with three birdies over her last four holes for another 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Ko at the Kroger Queen. City Championship.
Ko went bogey-free with an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole for a 66. Thitikul played the afternoon, making birdies on all the par-5s at TPC River’s Bend and finishing strong.
Thitikul hit a wedge over the water and avoided going long, making one final birdie putt that put him at 12-under 132 heading into the weekend.
Haeran Ryu, who won the FM Championship three weeks ago for his first LPGA title, matched the low round of the day with a 65 and was two shots behind.
One of those low rounds belonged to Anna Nordqvist, who is among 11 players competing in the high-energy Solheim Cup last week. Also playing is Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, who shot 70 and was five shots behind.
Rose Zhang, who went 4-0 last week, is the only Solheim Cup player to miss the cut. He made a late double bogey and never recovered, posting a 71 to avoid missing the weekend by one shot.
Thitikul is coming off a two-year winning streak. He teamed up with Ruoning Yin to win the Dow Championship this year, and has given himself plenty of other opportunities.
“I’m looking forward to some good golf and some fun golf out there,” Thitikul said. “I think a lot of good vibes are coming from me, starting like the Olympics. … I just want to play my game. I want to control my side, not others.”
Ko has good summer vibes that she won’t soon forget. He won a gold medal at the Olympics, a victory that earned him induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She then won the Women’s British Open for the second time, this time in St. Andrews.
Ko is coming off a three-week layoff and has shown no signs of getting up.
The key to his round was his eagle on No. 8, and Ko looked very unlikely to make that. Zhang hit his second shot from short range. Charley Hull had a 15-footer for eagle. Ko was in green despair hoping to get up for the birds. Instead, he pierced it.
“I felt abandoned because Charley hit it to 15 feet for eagle, Rose hit it to two feet and I missed the green,” said Ko. “I hit it the way I thought it would. It just came off the face of the team and it landed, Charley said, ‘Nice shot.’ And after five seconds it went into the hole I feel like that’s an added bonus.
Gaby Lopez and Maria Fassi, who represent Mexico at the Olympics, each shot 67 and were among those at 9-under 135. Nordqvist was on the other team that was shot from behind.
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