New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko has finished tied for 12th at the latest LPGA event in Malaysia.
Ko finished with a final round even par 71 to be eight under for the tournament, nine shots behind the winner Shanshan Feng of China.
Lydia Ko in Ann Arbor. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Lydia Ko beat Ariya Jutanugarn by nine shots this week, and that difference meant Ko, already a four-time winner this year, leapfrogged Jutanugarn for the lead in the money list - by just $US4000 - and is a mere 50 points behind the five-time winner for the Race to the CME Globe.
"Ariya has been playing great and she's consistently putting herself in good positions and that's what I've been trying to do. I think we both have two events left. I think we're going to go to the very end. But whatever happens, I think it's a year and a season that I'm proud of," said Ko.
"I'm going to hope for a good finish the next two weeks."
Even though Ko didn't play well in South Korea last week - her tie for 51st finish was her worst of the season - she felt like there were a lot of positives this week.
"I didn't really play well in Korea the couple weeks before, but it just shows that I can have the confidence and even though after an okay first day, I could still put myself back in the mix," she said.
"I think there's still a lot of positive the out there. It was good to see those birdies and those putts."
Ko also had a fine week with her local caddie, Guna Sargunan. She'll have another new caddie on the bag next time she tees it up.
"It was a lot of fun working with Guna. I think a lot of people came out to not only watch me but to see him in action too," said Ko with a smile.
"It was really good, and obviously all the best to him when he goes back to his player."
- RNZ
