OCALA, Fla. — Lydia Ko played enough golf Thursday to catch up to the lead. She just didn’t play enough to finish the rain-delayed second round of the Coates Golf Championship.
Ko, the No. 1 player in golf making her 2016 debut, was 4-under par for her round and had a 15-foot birdie putt on her final hole at the par-4 ninth hole at Golden Ocala when the horn sounded to stop play because of thunderstorms in the area.
Ko was 7-under for the tournament, tied with Ha Na Jang.
Jang, who opened with a 65, didn’t hit a shot Thursday. She was to tee off in the afternoon, but within an hour of play being stopped, several greens already were flooded. Play was suspended for the rest of the day and will resume on Friday.
The 72-hole tournament is scheduled to end Saturday.
Haru Nomura made seven birdies for a 66 and finished two rounds at 6-under 136.
Michelle Wie was in a large group at 4-under that included Suzann Pettersen, US Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun, Lexi Thompson and Juli Inkster, who birdied her opening hole of the second round before the storms arrived.
Fowler bounces back
World No. 4 Rickie Fowler bounced back from his missed cut at Torrey Pines, firing a six-under 65 Thursday to share the Phoenix Open first-round lead with Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowry.
“I made some great swings, made a lot of good putts — it was nice to see the ball go in the hole after last week,” Fowler said after a round that included birdies at three of his first four holes at TPC Scottsdale, where he teed off on 10.
Fowler added an eagle at the par-five 15th — where he drained a 27-footer — and sandwiched a birdie between two bogeys before picking up two more strokes coming in.
He capped his round with a birdie at the ninth, despite finding a fairway bunker.
“It’s not one that you try and pull off a lot,” he said of going for the green from the trap. “I knew I could hit it, but I had to hit it perfect.”
Fowler, who moved to fourth in the world with his victory at Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, said he enjoys the rowdy atmosphere of the tournament — a change from the more traditional tone.
“I love this week. It’s a lot of good energy,” he said.
Lowry also teed off on 10 and birdied five of his first nine, including a run of three straight birdies at 16, 17 and 18.
Japan’s Matsuyama, who also teed off on 10, had five birdies in his first nine holes, including three in a row from the 15th through the 17th. Anirban Lahiri of India was in the clubhouse on 66, while Bryce Molder was also five-under through 16 holes when play was halted.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee, England’s Greg Owen, James Hahn, Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker were tied on 67.
Five-time major champion Phil Mickelson carded an eventful 69 that included four birdies, an eagle and a triple-bogey seven at the par-four fifth that followed on the heels of a bogey at the fourth. — Agencies
