AURORA, Ont. — Jin Young Ko was one of the obvious favourites this week at the CP Canadian Women’s Open.
Through the first two rounds, she showed why she’s the number one ranked women’s golfer in the world. Through 36 holes, the 24-year-old has been bogey-free at 11-under par.
This year, Ko has won two of the LPGA Tour’s five majors, capturing victories at the ANA Inspiration, and the Evian Championship.
Hitting at five under on the day, Ko propelled herself to the head of the pack. She held the lead until Nicole Broch Larsen, of Denmark, ultimately took the reins by the end of the day’s competition, sinking a birdie on 18 to go ahead at 12 under par.
Broch Larsen’s best finish this year was a 10th place finish at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in June. This was her only top-10 for 2019.
Despite the early tee time of 7:59 a.m., Ko had a large contingent of South Korean supporters cheering her along throughout her round.
“A lot of volunteers [are] Korean. So many volunteers said, ‘Cheer up; you can
do everything’,” said Ko. “I’m really thankful for [the] volunteers.”
Throughout the day, the weather conditions were windy, and early on, many golfers struggled with the cold weather. Ko, like some of the other competitors who teed off this morning were affected by the low temperatures.
“This morning was so cold … so I had thicker clothing. But after, [the] front nine was hot.”
The wind, however, was no problem for the Seoul native.
“I like windy,” said Ko, with a grin.
Ko wasn’t the only player that battled successfully through the elements in the second round. In fact, her group contained one of the top performers of day two.
American golfer Brittany Altomare was six-under on the day, producing two highlight-reel eagles over the span of three holes.
“They just seemed to come out of nowhere and it happened twice this round,” said Altomare.
On the 12th hole, she holed out from about 90 yards from the pin, using her wedge to hit to an elevated green. She wasn’t even aware that the pitch shot had gone in.
“Well, you can’t really see the green from where we are because we’re down below,” said Altomare. “But when they cheered, it made it obvious.”
On the par-five 14th hole, the 28-year-old found herself in the sand-trap after her second shot. Lightning struck twice, as Altomare nailed the shot from the bunker.
Well that was fun! 😂👊🏻👊🏻#CPWO 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Mu4gHm9E9A
— Brittany Altomare (@Brittalto) August 23, 2019
After the shot, she was sitting at nine-under, but a tee shot on 17 that wound up short of the green and into the hazard, led to a double-bogey.
Finishing the day with a six-under performance, leaves Altomare at seven-under par going into the third leg of the tournament.
Brittany Altomare shot six under on the day, bringing her to within striking distance of the leaders. (Tyler Mulligan/Toronto Observer)
The double-bogey cost the Shrewsbury, Mass., native the competitive course record, which was set a day prior by Annie Park who shot a 65, seven-under par.
Altomare knows that beating the world’s top player is a tall task, and credits Ko’s success to consistency and a well-rounded skill set.
“She hits it and does everything really well. That’s what I think she does great,” Altomare said of Ko. “She eliminates mistakes, which is why she’s world number one.”