SUZANN PETTERSEN LEADS BY TWO IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

A perfect top of the backwing position - tournament leader Suzann Pettersen in action today.
 
KYLIE WALKER, PAMELA PRETSWELL

SURVIVE HALFWAY CUT IN CHINA

HAIKOU, CHINA: Defending champion Suzann Pettersen fired a second round five-under-par 68 on the Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in China today to keep her lead at the World Ladies Championship.

The World No 2 from Norway, on 11-under-par at the halfway stage of the individual 72-hole stroke play tournament, was two strokes clear of five other players.

Australian Nikki Campbell (67), England’s Trish Johnson (68), South Koreans So Yeon Ryu (67) and Ye Na Chung (69) plus Valentine Derrey of France (68) were all on nine-under-par after a warm and overcast day in tropical Hainan.

Pettersen’s scorecard was flawless with four birdies on the par fives and another on the driveable par-4 16^th, a dog-leg playing over a lake.

“Today was a little windy as we started,” said Pettersen. “Overall it was pretty decent. I feel like the par fives are playing like long par fours so five under today is certainly where I should be.”

With some low scoring on the second day – including a career-best round of nine-under-par 64 from Italian Diana Luna – Pettersen felt that she would need to dig deep and produce some phenomenal golf to maintain her lead and successfully defend.  

She said: “You can really go low out here. I think I’ve got to be at least 16-under-par for the next two rounds.”

One of her closest competitors is Ryu, the World No.5 who recorded two eagles in her second round. The 2011 US Women’s Open champion said: “The first was on hole six. I hit a three-wood and then a three-wood again for the second shot. My eagle putt was just three feet.
"On hole 16 I hit a driver on the green and it was an eight foot eagle putt and I made it. I think it was 260 to the pin.”

Johnson, another player just two strokes behind Pettersen, was feeling much better after recovering from an illness. She started with a pair of bogeys on holes 10 and 11 but picked up seven birdies and also felt that low scoring was required over the weekend.

“Obviously there are two or three people in the field who can shoot anything under so it’s a case of wait and see what happens,” said Johnson.
“I would imagine you’ve got to be 20 to 24 under to win, so it’s going to be a hell of a weekend.”

Derrey also mixed seven birdies with two bogeys in a 68 and said: “I started pretty well making birdies on the par fives. They are reachable in two so I think that’s easy and I just made a couple of putts and hit really good shots and shot five under.”

Korean LPGA player Chung, who led the Sanya Ladies Open in Hainan in October last year, had six birdies and two bogeys in a four-under 69. She said:
“I tried not to be greedy today, so I focused on making a par on every hole and I think that was the reason for my score.”

Luna was feeling at home on the moonscape-like black lava volcanic golf course. Her personal low round of 64 included two eagles on the second and 16^th holes, as well as seven birdies and two bogeys. She said: “I think I was in a very good mood today. I was smiling all the time and pretty relaxed. It worked out pretty well.”

In the team event running concurrently, where scores are determined by the lowest aggregate for each pair representing their country, France and South Korea are tied for the lead on 276 at the halfway point.

However, with new tournament conditions this year, Norway was out of the race as Pettersen’s partner, Marianne Skarpnord, missed the cut by one stroke and will not play the weekend.  

The cut fell at 149, three-over-par and 55 players, including four amateurs, will compete for the three individual, team and amateur titles being contested simultaneously in the event.
SCOTSWATCH: Pamela Pretswell (72 for 145) and Kylie Walker (76 for 148) made the cut (149 and better qualified) but Vikki Laing (72 for 150), Heather MacRae (76 for 157) and Carly Booth (79 for 165) failed.
Hamilton's Pretswell took over as leading Scot with a one-under-par round which saw her drop a shot at the fourth but then birdie three holes in the middle of her round - at the seventh, short eighth and 12th.
Walker (Carrick on Loch Lomond) did not play as well as she did on the opening day. She bogeyed the third, fifth, 10th and 11th and was sliding nearer and neared the danger zone until she birdied the long 12th and then parred every hole after that to make the cut with a shot to spare.
Musselburgh's Laing played well for her 72 with an eagle 3 at the long 12th and birdies at the second, sixth and seventh. But the bogeys at the first, fifth, 10th and 11th cancelled out most of the good work. Had she been able to birdie any of the last six holes, which she birdied, Vikki would have made the cut. Pity about that first-round 78.
Gleneagles' MacRae started badly with a double bogey 6 at the first and shots dropped at the second and third. That put her 12 over par for the tournament and with no hope of qualifying but she birdied the fourth, sixth and seventh before bogeying the 11th and 17th.
Comrie's Booth had no birdies in her 79. She finished with a bogey at 17 and a double bogey at 
18 for 40 home.

HALFWAY SCOREBOARDPar 146 (2x73)
135 Suzann Pettersen (NOR)  67 68

137 Nikki Campbell (AUS)  70 67, Trish Johnson (ENG)  69 68, Ye Na Chung (SKOR)  68 69, Valentine Derrey (FRA)  69 68, So Yeon Ryu (SKOR)  70 67

138 Diana Luna (ITA)  74 64

139 Minjee Lee (AUS)  (am) 68 71, Ariya Jutanugarn (THA)  73 66, Inbee Park (SKOR)  69 70, Gwladys Nocera (FRA)  69 70

140 Camilla Lennarth (SWE)  72 68, In Gee Chun (SKOR)  71 69

141 Yi Chen Liu (TPE)  71 70

142 Rebecca Artis (AUS)  71 71, Amelia Lewis (USA)  73 69, Ha-Na Jang (KOR)  72 70

143 Yan Hong Pan (CHN)  74 69, Joanna Klatten (FRA)  73 70

144 - Shanshan Feng (CHN)  74 70, Yu Ting Shi (CHN)  77 67, Xi Yu Lin (CHN)  72 72, Sarah Kemp (AUS)  74 70, Celine Herbin (FRA)  73 71

145 Jing Yan (CHN)  73 72, Maria Balikoeva (RUS)  73 72, Pamela Pretswell (SCO)  73 72, Wichanee Meechai (THA)  78 67, Beth Allen (USA)  75 70

146 Miriam Nagl (GER)  75 71, Malene Jorgensen (DEN)  73 73, Stephanie Na (AUS)  73 73, Kusuma Meechai (THA)  74 72, Bo-Mi Suh (SKOR)  73 73, Nina Holleder (GER)  74 72

147 Felicity Johnson (ENG)  77 70, Hsuan-Ping Chang (TPE)  72 75, Holly Aitchison (ENG)  76 71

148 Kylie Walker (SCO)  72 76, Xin Wang (CHN)  75 73, Patricia Sanz Barrio (ESP)  77 71, Hannah Burke (ENG)  74 74, Sophie Giquel-bettan (FRA)  74 74, Pei-Yun Chien (TPE)  77 71, Louise Larsson (SWE)  72 76, Pan Pan Yan (CHN)  77 71, Ajira Nualraksa (THA)  76 72, Holly Clyburn (ENG)  74 74, Rong Ji (CHN)  76 72, Nicole Broch Larsen (DEN)  75 73

149 Hong Tian (CHN)  78 71, Steffi Kirchmayr (GER)  76 73, Nontaya Srisawang (THA)  78 71, Florentyna Parker (ENG)  75 74, Li Qing Chen (CHN)  75 74

Missed the cut:

150 Yu Yang Zhang (CHN)  74 76, Marianne Skarpnord (NOR)  76 74, Linda Wessberg (SWE)  77 73, Cai Zhu Guo (CHN)  77 73, Vikki Laing (SCO)  78 72, Titiya Plucksataporn (THA)  79 71, Su-Hyun Oh (AUS)  80 70, Stacey Keating (AUS)  74 76, Pavarisa Yoktuan (THA)  76 74

151 Chang Yu Qiao (CHN)  76 75, Eleanor Givens (ENG)  71 80, Noora Tamminen (FIN)  75 76, So Young Jang (SKOR)  77 74, Liz Young (ENG)  75 76

152 Narisara Kerdrit (THA)  77 75, Daniela Holmqvist (SWE)  78 74

153 Tanaporn Kongkiatkrai (THA)  81 72, Ling Ling Tan (CHN)  76 77, Cathryn Bristow (NZL)  79 74, Caroline Afonso (FRA)  75 78, Sophie Walker (ENG)  77 76, Linda Henriksson (FIN)  78 75, Viva Schlasberg (SWE)  74 79

154 Jia Yun Li (CHN)  77 77, Jaruporn Palakawong Na Ayutthaya (THA)  76 78, Juanjuan Tao (CHN)  80 74, Tzu Chi Lin (TPE)  74 80, Alexandra Vilatte (FRA)  80 74, Mireia Prat (ESP)  75 79

155 Jade Schaeffer (FRA)  81 74, Ann-Kathrin Lindner (GER)  82 73, Connie Chen (RSA)  79 76, Rungthiwa Pangjan (THA)  78 77, Klara Spilkova (CZE)  79 76

156 Danielle Montgomery (ENG)  81 75, Cuixia Chen (CHN)  76 80, Isabella Leung (HKG)  79 77, Becky Brewerton (WAL)  80 76, Sahra Hassan (WAL)  78 78, Ziyi Wang (CHN)  79 77

157 Heather Macrae (SCO)  81 76, Nikki Garrett (AUS)  80 77

158 Cassandra Kirkland (FRA)  81 77, Whitney Hillier (AUS)  80 78, Caroline Martens (NOR)  77 81

159 Julianne Alvarez (NZL)  82 77

160 Walailak Satarak (THA)  81 79

162 Kai Lin Zhu (CHN)  83 79

163 Yue Xia Lu (CHN)  85 78

164 In Ji Bae (SKOR)  87 77

165 Daniela Prorokova (CZE)  83 82, Carly Booth (SCO)  86 79

RTD - Alison Whitaker (AUS)