Lydia Ko at the British Open. Photo: photosport
Lydia Ko has made a sound start in dreadful conditions as she began her bid for a maiden Women's British Open title, sitting four shots off the pace after the opening day at St Andrews Old Course in Scotland.
Two weeks after her gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, Ko has turned her sights on the pursuit of just her third major title and the first in more than eight years.
She has set herself up well to share 12th place on one-under following a challenging opening round played in bitterly cold, blustery conditions at the famed links course.
Ko said walking off the course "all you can do is really laugh, it's so windy".
"It's even hard to putt. It was difficult. I knew it was going to be a challenge."
The 27-year-old, who mixed three birdies with two bogeys, is four strokes behind English leader Charley Hull, who is a shot clear of American world No.1 Nelly Korda and China's Ruoning Yin.
Local fan favourite Hull tapped in her sixth birdie on the 18th hole to card 67 and boost her chances of a maiden major win.
The 28-year-old finished runner-up at last year's British Open and matched that result at the US Open.
Yin, who finished tied for 61st in her debut Open last year, played in the most difficult conditions among the leaders.
Only 16 players were under par when the first round was postponed due to darkness, with the average round completed lasting just under six hours.
Course-side wind readings topped 65kmh and are expected to continue on day two, along with the arrival of rain.
- Reuters/RNZ