Lydia Ko Jumps Into Contention at 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Lydia Ko came quickly out of the gates Friday morning and fired a 5-under 67 in the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Ko, a winner already this season on the LPGA Tour, was 5 under for her first nine holes before making a bogey on the par-4 15th. She got it right back on the very next hole, rolling in another birdie on the par-5 16th.

Ko sat tied for second when she signed her scorecard.

The two-time major champion felt like her game was in a solid place, but things were just a little tighter on Friday versus Thursday.

“Especially around a course like this, I don't know how aggressive is playing smart, but I just tried to stick to my lines and just committed shots,” said Ko. “(On Thursday) I thought it was a pretty decent start. Definitely a nice one today to kind of go into the weekend.”

Ko won the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in January for her 17th LPGA Tour title. She’s been putting together a solid season from tee to green, according to KPMG Performance Insights.

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Ko sits fifth in Strokes Gained: Total, and leads the LPGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining a stroke and a half to the field on the greens.

Her impressive overall game was on display Friday at Congressional Country Club as she moved up the leaderboard. She shot an even-par 72 on Thursday.

Ko was coming into the week after finishing inside the top five in four of her last five LPGA Tour starts. She hasn’t had a finish worse than 25th all season.

“I think the last couple of weeks it was a few silly mistakes, a few shots where I lost focus a little bit costing me a couple of shots from there. Other than that, I feel like the game is in a pretty solid place,” said Ko. “At the same time, I think it is very difficult to win. The level of play on our Tour is incredible. You can see just by the scores week in, week out.”

This is Ko’s fourth tournament in a row on the LPGA Tour, which is a rare stretch for her. She said she was as committed as ever, though, to take this one across the finish line strong before a well-deserved break.

“I know that sometimes when you are fatigued, you could lose focus and then hit some mistakes that you normally wouldn't if you were a bit more sharp,” said Ko. “Definitely, I think, two solid days of golf so far and hopefully I better cap off these next two days in a solid way and have a great three weeks off.”

There’s work still left to be done at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but Ko is in a prime position for another solid result heading into the weekend at Congressional.