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

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.

"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."

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The 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