Lydia Ko started her first round at Wild Horse Pass with four consecutive birdies and never looked back, tripling that number on her way to a career-low 12-under 60. <\/p>\n
Ko\u2019s Ford Championship birdie fest put her in line to become only the second player in LPGA history to shoot 59, but she just missed matching Annika Sorenstam\u2019s second round at Moon Valley Country Club in 2001. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever actually started a round with four birdies, so it was nice to take advantage of the good start and continue that on my back nine as well,\u201d Ko told reporters Thursday. <\/p>\n
Despite never going more than two holes without a birdie and recording a dozen of them, Ko was one shy of Sorenstam\u2019s birdie mark. <\/p>\n
Sorenstam, who finished with a 13-under 59 in Phoenix a quarter century ago, remains the only player in LPGA Tour history to break 60.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number 59 did cross my mind by the time I holed my birdie putt on 6 (her 15th hole of the day), but it wasn\u2019t like the pressure was \u2014 like it wasn\u2019t like I had a lot of pressure to like break 60,\u201d Ko explained. \u201cIt was just more like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s really cool to be in this position.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
A three-time major winner, Ko ended her opening round strong with four birdies in the last five holes. Her 60 is the fourth the LPGA has seen since 2010<\/a>, and just the eighth in Tour history. <\/p>\n There won\u2019t be a long time to celebrate the feat, though.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old carries a one-stroke lead over Hyo Joo Kim, who finished with a 61 just four days removed from hoisting the Founders Cup trophy in Menlo Park.<\/a><\/p>\n