At just 14 years old, Lydia Ko won her first professional tournament. This child prodigy, born in Seoul and raised in New Zealand, now at 26, has amassed a large handful of trophies after a meteoric career that she will likely abandon when she turns thirty. Alexa Pano is another child prodigy, she from the prolific American quarry. At 11 springs, she played a pro event on the Japan Tour and at 13 she debuted on the LPGA Tour. The day she turned 19, last August, she gifted herself her first victory: the ISPS Handa World Invitational. The event in Northern Ireland, where she defeated Esther Henseleit and Gabriella Cowley in the playoff, also counted for the American Circuit. That’s why she’s in Orlando this week competing in the Tournament of Champions and that’s why she’s fighting for victory with the current leader with just one day left.
Lydia Ko was spot-on with this one 🤯
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— LPGA (@LPGA) January 20, 2024
Ko (-12) and Pano (-10) reached double digits and no other champion has achieved it. The New Zealander, eager to triumph again in the LPGA after a weak 2023 and to start the Olympic year as God commands (she only lacks the gold after taking a silver and a bronze), tied another round without bogeys at Lake Nona in Orlando to further consolidate the lead she already achieved on the eve. Four birdies in the stretch from 8 to 14 were enough and more to continue looking from the top at the other 34 competitors. Lydia is back on track: 12/14 streets taken and 15/18 greens in regulation. Pure reliability.
Pano took advantage of more or less the same sequence as Ko, although she got one more birdie (5) between the fifth and fourteenth flags. The young woman did not stumble once and that’s why she has climbed to second place. With a lot of composure, she is gaining confidence, not like at the beginning of 2023, in her rookie year. “I was a mess when I started as a rookie in the LPGA and now I feel much more comfortable and with a good handle on things. I worked very hard this preseason to be ready for this. I think this is the fun part, seeing how everything becomes reality. I started to have a lot more fun after the victory in Northern Ireland, but things started to change for me a little earlier,” admits Alexa.
Ally Ewing (-8) is not giving up and on Sunday she will return to the charge to surprise the first two at Lake Nona. The member of the American Solheim Cup team signed a 68 again as in the first round after the 72 of the second and has options, after signing five birdies and a bogey.
Further back with -7 appear the first leader, Ayaka Furue (from more to less in the tournament), Gemma Dryburgh and Gaby López. They may be able to push their Sunday chances, although with Lydia Ko’s form it seems difficult that they can overthrow her. With -6, Brooke Henderson, Rose Zhang and Charley Hull need a great round and a stumble from Ko and Pano to fight for victory.
The world’s Number One, Lilia Vu (PAR), faltered with a 74 and is twenty-third, while the Japanese Mone Inami (PAR) was about to equal the course record that her compatriot Furue set on Thursday, but in the end she was one stroke short (66) after getting four birdies and an eagle.
