Ko aims to channel 'inner Foxy' for Women's Open bid

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LONDON, July 29 : New Zealand's Lydia Ko hopes to channel her "inner Foxy" and win the Women's Open for the second time at Royal Lytham this week.Ko watched enthralled from afar as Ryan Fox won the men's British Open at Royal Birkdale this month, becoming only the second New Zealander to win golf's oldest major.Now, a few miles along the north-west England coast, Ko is hoping to emulate her compatriot and break the domination of this year's majors by American world number one Nelly Korda and South Korea's Ryu Hae-ran."I would love to kind of keep the dice rolling. Super excited for Foxy and the whole of golf New Zealand for his win just up the road at Birkdale," Ko told reporters on Wednesday.Show MoreShow Less"I don't think I've been that nervous and that excited watching somebody else play. Just his whole back nine and the way he played over the weekend was incredible."Yeah, it would be cool to channel my inner Foxy, his fearlessness, out there for me these next few days."FOUR MAJOR CHAMPIONS FROM NEW ZEALANDThe 29-year-old Ko is one of only four New Zealanders to win a golf major along with Bob Charles, who won the 1963 Open at Lytham, 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and Fox.The most recent of her three majors was the Women's Open at St Andrews two years ago, the same year she won the Paris Olympic gold medal.Ko, who has been to three Olympics as a team mate of Fox, said she used to marvel at the way he could hit the "easiest 65s" despite not always finding the fairways.By contrast, her game relies on laser-straight hitting and she knows that will be necessary around a Lytham course littered with pot bunkers."I think this is the toughest Women's Open championship venue I have ever played," she said. "I don't know what I thought when I played in 2018. I might have been in a lot of bunkers that are on the golf course that are in my memory bank."Even on a pretty perfect day like today it's playing hard. So when you win on that kind of caliber of golf course, I think it's always something that you come off feeling extra proud."After missing the cut at the year's first two majors, Ko finished tied 15th at the PGA Championship and tied seventh at the Evian Championship - her best major finish since winning at St Andrews in 2024.Korda and Ryu have won two majors apiece this season.