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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lydia Ko, of New Zealand, hits her ball into the water from the rough on the 18th hole during the second round of the LPGA Tour ANA Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Hills Country Club Friday, April 3, 2015 in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. >> Lydia Ko shot a 2-over 74 on Saturday in the ANA Inspiration, her second straight over-par round after tying the LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par at 29.
A day after hitting into the water and bogeying the 18th for a 73, Ko made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 hole to keep another long streak going. The 17-year-old New Zealander has had at least one birdie in all 187 of her rounds in 49 career events on the tour.
“It always some statistic that is going to get my tail,” Ko said about the birdie streak that she wasn’t aware of until after the round. “Lucky thing that I birdied 18.”
She bogeyed Nos. 3, 9 and 13.
“I didn’t feel like it was too bad today,” Ko said. “I just couldn’t get the putts to drop.”
On Thursday at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year, Ko shot a 71 to tie the LPGA Tour record for consecutive rounds under par set by Annika Sorenstam in 2004.
The top-ranked teen was tied for 50th at 2 under with the leaders still on the course, putting her in danger of ending two more streaks. She has 10 straight top-10 finishes and has finished under par in 17 tournaments in a row since the Women’s British Open last summer.
She’s playing her sixth tournament in seven weeks, also making stops in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Phoenix and Carlsbad. She won in Australia for her sixth LPGA Tour title and took the Ladies European Tour event in New Zealand the following week.
“I don’t feel tired,” Ko said. “Maybe the body feels a little differently. It has been a lot of golf.”
