Golf: Ryan Fox, Dame Lydia Ko eye top-10 finishes on PGA, LPGA Tours

Dame Lydia Ko’s hot start to 2026 continues.

After finishing fourth in her first outing of the year – a weather-shortened tournament in Orlando in January – the 28-year-old New Zealand golf great has picked up where she left off.

Ko is in contention at the Honda LPGA Thailand, sitting at 16-under-par after three rounds, four shots off the pace set by Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul.

The Kiwi Hall-of-Famer overcame a stretch on the front nine in which she dropped three shots on as many holes to card a three-under 69 in her third round.

She had one birdie on the front nine, before going blemish-free on the back nine. Ko stormed through the turn with four birdies in a row on holes 10 through 13, before picking up another shot on the par-five 18th.

While Ko is in contention in Thailand, fellow Aucklander Ryan Fox is on the hunt for another top-10 finish on the PGA Tour after a strong round at the Genesis Invitational.

A signature event on the PGA Tour, the Genesis comes with inflated prizemoney and points on offer, with a limited field. Unlike most signature events, though, the tournament still had a cut after two rounds, with only the top 50 returning for the weekend.

Fox is afforded entry into such events after his top-50 finish on the PGA Tour in 2025, and has put together a strong week to sit in a tie for ninth with one round to play.

He made an impeccable start to his third round on Sunday morning (NZT), with four birdies through the first six holes.

A bogey on the ninth hole sent the rollercoaster on its way over the back half of the course however, with two more birdies and three bogeys – including one on the 18th – seeing Fox finish the round two-under par.

Sitting at eight-under for the tournament, Fox is still 11 shots off US leader Jacob Bridgeman, who has continued his strong form to take a commanding lead over the field at 19-under.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy leads the chasing pack at 13-under.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.