It is common in golf to have sharp turns. One day, a golfer can be leading the scoreboard, and the next day, someone else will be on top to chase the title. Consider the 2025 Buick LPGA Shanghai event, for example. The World No. 1, Jeen Thitikul, fired an impressive opening round of 65. But then she hit a second round of 70, which sent her down the leaderboard. Thanks to her 6 and 63 in the last two rounds, she rose back and won the title. Such ups and downs are all too common on a golf course. With similar sharp turns, Lydia Ko finished Round 2 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club West Course.

After the end of Round 2, the media asked the 23x LPGA about her day. “Today I just hit bad shot that ended up being a double, and I hit actually a really good tee shot on 17 that went too far and made a bogey there. So frustrating finish. Other than that, I felt like I hit it solid. And it’s hard because yesterday I just got off to a really hot start, so I was kind of able to take the momentum a little bit. It was a little slower,” said Lydia Ko.

Ko is talking about holes 11 and 17. On the par-3 11th hole, she hit a double bogey, and on the par-4 17th, she hit a bogey. She did make quite a few birdies as well. Holes 5, 7, 10, 13, and 18 were all birdies. But because of the three additional strokes on holes 11 and 17, she finished only 2 under par 70 on the second day. On the other hand, her first day was much better. She made birdies on holes 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 16, and 18, and a bogey on hole 13. Overall, she was 6 under par 66 after Day 1.

Despite what the numbers say, the New Zealand LPGA star said that she thought Day 2 was better, performance-wise. Capturing the irony of it, Ko said, “Yeah, I actually felt like I played better today. It’s golf, right? Yesterday I didn’t think it was as good, but I made a lot of good ups and downs.”

When you compare the numbers beyond just the birdies and bogeys, her statement makes sense. On Day 1, she hit only 9 of the 14 fairways. But on Day 2, she hit 13 of them. The driving distance also increased from 229 to 247. However, it was the sands that took her down. She saved both sands on Day 1, but wasn’t able to save any on Day 2.

The 2025 Maybank Championship, held at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club West Course, is a no-cut format. Lydia Ko is currently tied 4th with 8 under 136. She is tied with 7 other golfers, including Ayaka Furue, Miranda Wang, Yan Liu, Linn Grant, Miyu Yamashita, Arpichaya Yubol, and Benedetta Moresco. Tied at 2nd with 9 under par are Hannah Green and the defending champion Ruoning Yin. Sitting right at the top with a massive 5-stroke lead is South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi.

Ko has been a consistent performer on the LPGA Tour. Since 2012, when she won her first LPGA title, the CN Canadian Women’s Open, she has been winless only 3 years: 2017, 2019, and 2020. In 2025, she has already won the HSBC Women’s World Championship and is now eyeing her 24th LPGA title at the 2025 Maybank Championship. But what could be holding her down is her performance at the recently ended Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown.

Lydia Ko still feels gutted about the 2025 International Crown

Lydia Ko still feels disappointed weeks after the International Crown concluded. She feels that she let her team down despite their solid third-place finish at New Korea Country Club in South Korea. During the media press conference after Day 1 at the 2025 Maybank Championship, the 3x major winner admitted feeling “gutted” for not playing the first and second in the final round at the International Crown.

Ko co-captained the new World Team alongside Charley Hull. The other members of her team were Brooke Henderson and Wei-Ling Hsu. The team advanced from Pool B with a 3-1-2 record. But the Australian team defeated them in the semifinals.

In the crucial alternate-shot semifinal match, Ko and Hsu lost 1 down to the World No. 3, Minjee Lee, and Grace Kim. Ko acknowledged the emotional weight of leadership, expressing that she felt responsible for letting down the team and Hsu.

Despite her self-criticism, Lydia Ko’s performance was objectively strong. She averaged 69.8 strokes per round, hit 78% of fairways, and maintained 77% greens in regulation during her four matches at the International Crown.

Ko knows there’s more golf to play and plenty of chances to turn things around. With her confidence building and focus sharpening, she’s ready to make a strong push through the weekend.