PHOENIX – Lydia Ko has an unabashed teenage crush on Adam Scott.
Unfortunately, Ko, 16, shared a Sunday fate with him that she would rather have avoided.
Like Scott, Ko couldn’t hold a 54-hole lead, finishing tied for second at the JTBC Founders Cup at JW Marriott’s Wildfire Golf Club.
Earlier in the day, Scott lost his three-shot lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After a sizzling start, with birdies at four of her first five holes, Ko couldn’t close either, passed in the end by Karrie Webb.
“I had a really good start,” Ko said. “I struggled in the holes after that. I tried to get myself together, but I made some bogeys at the wrong time, which wasn’t ideal. I tried my best until the end.”
Ko didn’t collapse the way Scott did. She shot 70 Sunday. Her putter just went cold. She had three bogeys and a birdie over the final 13 holes.
Still, going to the 18th tee, Ko had a chance to force a playoff. Her approach shot came up short, bouncing oddly and leaving her a 40-foot birdie putt to tie. With a good stroke, Ko scared the hole but couldn’t find it.
“I think I played well overall,” she said. “I’m just going to take the positives out of it.”