Solid start for Lydia Ko in final LPGA event of year, Lydia Ko is five shots off the lead after one round of the LPGA Tour's final tournament of the year, but still well in the hunt for a monumental pay-day.
The 17-year-old shot a one-under 71 at the Tour Championship event in Florida this morning to end day one in a tie for 13th.
The season-ending event is also the Order of Merit finale and should Ko win, she will also win the Race to CME Globe and pocket the $1.26m bonus.
She would also win the $630,000 tournament winner's share and more than double her career earnings of $1.7m.
Ko can finish as low as seventh and still have a chance of winning the Order of Merit, but would need those around her to falter including the top two players in the world, Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis.
Ko played with the pair this morning and has them both in sight. Park also shot 71 while Lewis recorded an opening round three-under 69 to be tied for third.
Ko doesn't have weaknesses as such, but she's does struggle to score off the par-fives as well as some of her peers.
She sorted that out today; the world No 3 birdied three of the Tiburon Golf Club's four par fives. Those were her only birdies. She got herself to two under through 14 holes, but dropped shots on 15 and 16 before her third birdie, on 17.
The leader is Paraguay's Julieta Granada who started the final event of the year in 24th on the Order of Merit and is unable to win the title.
She recorded a blemish-free six under 66 to lead by two from Germany's Sandra Gal.
