Lydia Ko makes slow start to Chevron Championship; Ryan Fox sits 28th at Zurich Classic

Lydia Ko is one-over after her first round of the Chevron Championship. Photo / AFP

Lydia Ko did her best work late in the first round of the Chevron Championship this morning, two late birdies in the last three holes minimising the damage from a slow start.

Ko, who went into the first major championship of the LPGA tour season with injury concerns, bogeyed the opening hole of the tournament at The Woodlands in Texas - the par-four 10th.

She then found herself at three-over through six holes, dropping shots on the 14th and 15th - both par fours.

From there, however, Ko was unblemished.

Rattling off nine pars in a row before back-to-back birdies, Ko finished with a par on her final hole of the round to end the day with a one-over 73.

That has her in a tie for 61st and eight shots off the leader Haeran Ryu of South Korea, who shot a bogey-free seven-under 65.

Ahead of the tournament, Ko told Golfweek she had been getting treatment after a neck spasm earlier in the week and while it didn’t “feel like my normal arm” she felt she could play through the discomfort.

On the PGA Tour, Ryan Fox made a strong start to the Zurich Classic teams event in New Orleans, with he and South African playing partner Garrick Higgo carding an eight-under 64.

As a team, the pair combined to count eight birdies to sit in a tie for 28th.

It was a bit of a slow start for the pair in the four-ball round, which saw both team members play their own ball but only count the better of the two scores.

They bagged a birdie on the first hole, but had a run of five pars before kicking their round into another gear.

With six birdies in their last 12 holes, the duo set themselves up nicely to match - or better - their result at this event last year, where they finished tied for fourth.

American duo Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo lead the field at 14-under. The team was 10-under through the front nine, with eight birdies and an eagle, and picked up four more shots on the back nine.

Tomorrow will see the event move to the foursomes alternate-shot format, where the players take turns playing the same ball. Round three will be back to four-ball, before another foursomes round to find a winner.

Leading into the event, Fox told the Herald the unique event was a fun one to be involved in.

“We had a lot of fun last year. We played really well and just to be able to get out on a golf course with a mate and do that, I like that style of things; being able to talk, being able to have a bit more fun on the golf course, maybe take it just that little bit less seriously, just made it a bit easier in that respect,” Fox said.

“This sort of kickstarted my season last year and I would certainly like to do something similar this year. I feel like my golf game’s close – I think I’ve said that to you every week for the past, probably, eight weeks.

“There is a lot of good in there, Garrick’s playing really well as well so hopefully we can put it together.”

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