AMY YANG THREE CLEAR IN LPGA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — About the only thing going low at the LPGA Tour Championship is the temperature.Well, that and Amy Yang's scorecard.
Yang shot a 2-under 70 in a safe and solid second round Friday, good enough to hold a three-shot lead when play was called for darkness. Only 10 of the 120 players in the field were under par.
"It is very surprising," said Yang, who is going for her first LPGA victory and has never led a round until this week.
Not that she's complaining.
The lack of low scores in a bloated field that features the top players on tour made her score stick all day. Maria Hjorth (68) and Seon Hwa Lee (73) were three shots back, and world No. 1 Jiyai Shin (75) is projected to make the cut on the number to keep her chances of holding the ranking at season's end alive.
The near-freezing conditions and a competitive course has tested players more than they could've imagined. And Yang has handled the challenge better them anyone.
The South Korean overcame a slow second-round start to finish with four birdies on the back nine, including a sizzling putt from about 20 feet on the 18th hole. She also did it with a tougher morning tee time, around 8:30 a.m., before things warmed up.
The temperature dipped into the upper 30s at dawn at Grand Cypress Golf Club to make firm and fluctuating greens even faster. The breeze ticked down a touch for the second round, but the topsy-turvy greens - which Laura Davies called "mental" a day earlier - were causing the most challenges.
"You really have to be patient out here, because you're going to have some bad breaks," Hjorth said.
The course has wreaked havoc even on the top players.
The LPGA's player of the year award is wide open at the season-ending event for the first time in a decade, now that Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam are retired. Five in the field have a chance to grab the honor, and the top ranking is also in play.
Shin and Na Yeon Choi would be the first Korean to win the LPGA's top honor. Cristie Kerr could become the first American since Beth Daniel in 1994 to claim the award, Yani Tseng would be the first from Taiwan, and Ai Miyazato of Japan is also in contention.
Kerr (71) is five shots back, Choi (71) is seven off the lead, Tseng (73) is 11 back and Miyazato (71) is 14 off the pace. In other words, parody rules again at the top.
"I think it's more interesting having more people up there," Kerr said. "I would like to be the dominant Alpha female, but you have to work really hard for that."
They don't have much time left to make up ground.
The LPGA Tour Championship will cut to the lowest 70 scores and ties when the second round officially finishes early Saturday morning. And there will be an additional cut after 54 holes to the lowest 30 players and ties, making the margin for error even slimmer.
It also makes Yang's grip on the lead feel even tighter.
Her last victory of any kind came in 2006, when she won the Ladies Masters in Australia at only 16 years old. That made her the youngest amateur ever to win on the Ladies European Tour, and it seemed there would be more victories in her future.
Only they haven't come.
"I was too young to know what winning a tournament meant," she said. "After that, I had to finish high school. So there was a gap of time between that."
Maybe not much longer.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
To be completed Saturday morning local time
Par 144 (2x72). Yardage 6,5178.
137 Amy Yang (Kor) 67 70
140 Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 67 73, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 72 68
141 Julieta Granada (Par) 69 72
142 Morgan Pressel 73 69, Cristie Kerr 71 71, Katherine Hull (Aus) 72 70
143 Se Ri Pak (Kor) 74 69
144 Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 73 71, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 71 73
145 Taylor Leon 73 72, Il-hee Lee (Kor) 75 70, Laura Diaz 74 71, Angela Stanford 73 72
146 Beatriz Recari (Spa) 74 72, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 73 73, Brittany Lincicome 75 71, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 73 73, Leta Lindley 70 76
147 Juli Inkster 72 75, Alena Sharp (Can) 76 71, Christina Kim 75 72
148 Giulia Sergas (Ita) 75 73, Yani Tseng (Tai) 75 73, Candie Kung (Tai) 74 74, Sandra Gal (Ger) 75 73, Amanda Blumenherst 76 72
149 Mika Miyazato (Jpn) 79 70, Stacy Prammanasudh 72 77, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 71 78, Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 76, M.J. Hur (Kor) 79 70
150 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 73 77, Kristy McPherson 75 75, Michele Redman 76 74, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 74 76, Jimin Kang (Kor) 74 76, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 77 73, Maria Hernandez (Spa) 76 74, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 75 75, Allison Fouch 78 72, Mina Harigae 77 73
151 Stephanie Louden 73 78, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 76 75, Meaghan Francella 80 71, Louise Stahle (Swe) 76 75, Brittany Lang 77 74, Karine Icher (Fra) 78 73
152 Na On Min (Jpn) 76 76, Paula Creamer 75 77, Anna Nordqvist (Swe) 81 71, Aree Song (Kor) 77 75, Jiyai Shin (Kor) 77 75, Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 80 72, Louise Friberg (Swe) 74 78, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 75 77, Stacy Lewis 78 74, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 76 76.
PROJECTED CUT MARK 152 or better AFTER ROUND 2 COMPLETED
153 Mindy Kim (Kor) 76 77, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 78 75, Sarah-jane Smith (Aus) 75 78, Wendy Ward 74 79, Pat Hurst 79 74, Anna Rawson (Aus) 76 77
154 Azahara Munoz (Spa) 75 79, Adrienne White (Can) 77 77, Laura Davies (Eng) 70 84
155 Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 75 80, Reilley Rankin 78 77, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 78 77, Meredith Duncan 76 79, Ashli Bunch 78 77
156 Christi Cano 74 82
157 Vicky Hurst 78 79, Yoo kyeong Kim (Kor) 77 80, Irene Cho 78 79, Lorie Kane (Can) 78 79
158 Karen Stupples (Eng) 80 78, Leah Wigger 80 78
159 Tanya Dergal 83 76, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 76 83, Janice Moodie (Sco) 79 80
160 Paola Moreno 83 77
163 Libby Smith 83 80, Katie Kempter 82 81, Beth Bader 82 81
164 Diana D'Alessio 82 82
172 Lisa Strom 84 88
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — About the only thing going low at the LPGA Tour Championship is the temperature.Well, that and Amy Yang's scorecard.
Yang shot a 2-under 70 in a safe and solid second round Friday, good enough to hold a three-shot lead when play was called for darkness. Only 10 of the 120 players in the field were under par.
"It is very surprising," said Yang, who is going for her first LPGA victory and has never led a round until this week.
Not that she's complaining.
The lack of low scores in a bloated field that features the top players on tour made her score stick all day. Maria Hjorth (68) and Seon Hwa Lee (73) were three shots back, and world No. 1 Jiyai Shin (75) is projected to make the cut on the number to keep her chances of holding the ranking at season's end alive.
The near-freezing conditions and a competitive course has tested players more than they could've imagined. And Yang has handled the challenge better them anyone.
The South Korean overcame a slow second-round start to finish with four birdies on the back nine, including a sizzling putt from about 20 feet on the 18th hole. She also did it with a tougher morning tee time, around 8:30 a.m., before things warmed up.
The temperature dipped into the upper 30s at dawn at Grand Cypress Golf Club to make firm and fluctuating greens even faster. The breeze ticked down a touch for the second round, but the topsy-turvy greens - which Laura Davies called "mental" a day earlier - were causing the most challenges.
"You really have to be patient out here, because you're going to have some bad breaks," Hjorth said.
The course has wreaked havoc even on the top players.
The LPGA's player of the year award is wide open at the season-ending event for the first time in a decade, now that Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam are retired. Five in the field have a chance to grab the honor, and the top ranking is also in play.
Shin and Na Yeon Choi would be the first Korean to win the LPGA's top honor. Cristie Kerr could become the first American since Beth Daniel in 1994 to claim the award, Yani Tseng would be the first from Taiwan, and Ai Miyazato of Japan is also in contention.
Kerr (71) is five shots back, Choi (71) is seven off the lead, Tseng (73) is 11 back and Miyazato (71) is 14 off the pace. In other words, parody rules again at the top.
"I think it's more interesting having more people up there," Kerr said. "I would like to be the dominant Alpha female, but you have to work really hard for that."
They don't have much time left to make up ground.
The LPGA Tour Championship will cut to the lowest 70 scores and ties when the second round officially finishes early Saturday morning. And there will be an additional cut after 54 holes to the lowest 30 players and ties, making the margin for error even slimmer.
It also makes Yang's grip on the lead feel even tighter.
Her last victory of any kind came in 2006, when she won the Ladies Masters in Australia at only 16 years old. That made her the youngest amateur ever to win on the Ladies European Tour, and it seemed there would be more victories in her future.
Only they haven't come.
"I was too young to know what winning a tournament meant," she said. "After that, I had to finish high school. So there was a gap of time between that."
Maybe not much longer.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
To be completed Saturday morning local time
Par 144 (2x72). Yardage 6,5178.
137 Amy Yang (Kor) 67 70
140 Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 67 73, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 72 68
141 Julieta Granada (Par) 69 72
142 Morgan Pressel 73 69, Cristie Kerr 71 71, Katherine Hull (Aus) 72 70
143 Se Ri Pak (Kor) 74 69
144 Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 73 71, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 71 73
145 Taylor Leon 73 72, Il-hee Lee (Kor) 75 70, Laura Diaz 74 71, Angela Stanford 73 72
146 Beatriz Recari (Spa) 74 72, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 73 73, Brittany Lincicome 75 71, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 73 73, Leta Lindley 70 76
147 Juli Inkster 72 75, Alena Sharp (Can) 76 71, Christina Kim 75 72
148 Giulia Sergas (Ita) 75 73, Yani Tseng (Tai) 75 73, Candie Kung (Tai) 74 74, Sandra Gal (Ger) 75 73, Amanda Blumenherst 76 72
149 Mika Miyazato (Jpn) 79 70, Stacy Prammanasudh 72 77, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 71 78, Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 76, M.J. Hur (Kor) 79 70
150 Jennifer Rosales (Phi) 73 77, Kristy McPherson 75 75, Michele Redman 76 74, Gwladys Nocera (Fra) 74 76, Jimin Kang (Kor) 74 76, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 77 73, Maria Hernandez (Spa) 76 74, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 75 75, Allison Fouch 78 72, Mina Harigae 77 73
151 Stephanie Louden 73 78, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 76 75, Meaghan Francella 80 71, Louise Stahle (Swe) 76 75, Brittany Lang 77 74, Karine Icher (Fra) 78 73
152 Na On Min (Jpn) 76 76, Paula Creamer 75 77, Anna Nordqvist (Swe) 81 71, Aree Song (Kor) 77 75, Jiyai Shin (Kor) 77 75, Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 80 72, Louise Friberg (Swe) 74 78, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 75 77, Stacy Lewis 78 74, Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 76 76.
PROJECTED CUT MARK 152 or better AFTER ROUND 2 COMPLETED
153 Mindy Kim (Kor) 76 77, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 78 75, Sarah-jane Smith (Aus) 75 78, Wendy Ward 74 79, Pat Hurst 79 74, Anna Rawson (Aus) 76 77
154 Azahara Munoz (Spa) 75 79, Adrienne White (Can) 77 77, Laura Davies (Eng) 70 84
155 Ji-Young Oh (Kor) 75 80, Reilley Rankin 78 77, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 78 77, Meredith Duncan 76 79, Ashli Bunch 78 77
156 Christi Cano 74 82
157 Vicky Hurst 78 79, Yoo kyeong Kim (Kor) 77 80, Irene Cho 78 79, Lorie Kane (Can) 78 79
158 Karen Stupples (Eng) 80 78, Leah Wigger 80 78
159 Tanya Dergal 83 76, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 76 83, Janice Moodie (Sco) 79 80
160 Paola Moreno 83 77
163 Libby Smith 83 80, Katie Kempter 82 81, Beth Bader 82 81
164 Diana D'Alessio 82 82
172 Lisa Strom 84 88
Labels: LPGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | 11:57:00 am
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