South Korean leads by four in LPGA Tour event
FROM LPGA WEBSITE
Stacy Lewis, Jessica Korda, and Azahara Munoz, the headliners atop the Coates Championship leaderboard, headed off the first tee in the morning wave after an hour and half delay looking to steal the show and ensure the season opener would go to a veteran.
South Korean rookie Ha Na Jang, the first to tee off in the afternoon wave at Ocala, Florida, had other plans, following up a first-round 67 with a scorching 7-under-par 65 that was four shots better than anyone else in the field that finished their round on Thursday.
Jang didn’t have to use her flat stick a ton after hitting four approaches inside three feet, but she saved her best work on the greens for last, draining a curling bender of a 25 footer on the last in dwindling light to complete the tournament’s best round yet.
“I think today my second shot were better,” Jang, the No. 21 ranked player in the world, said. “Very nice iron shots today.”
It was the type of steely calm performance far beyond a rookie in the season opener, leaving one reporter to ask if she felt like a rookie at 22 years of age.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m too old,” she said with a laugh.
Fifty players have still to complete their first rounds after the frost delay pushed back the afternoon wave.
Stacy Lewis sits in second at 8-under-par after a second-round 70. Lydia Ko (69), Azahara Munoz (70) are tied in third with Angela Stanford and Austin Ernst, who each have four and five holes left to play in the second round,
respectively. Pushing the second round into Friday morning came at the worst time for Stanford who was 6-under for the day and charging up the leaderboard.
When Lewis finished her round, she surely didn’t leave the golf course thinking there was a 66 out there and likely thought she’d enter Friday’s third round with a lead, not a four-shot deficit.
“We shot some 66s yesterday and I think that’s a great score on this golf course. The greens are just so tricky, there’s not a lot of hole locations on a couple of the greens, you have to hit it to the right spot,” Lewis said. “You can make some bogeys and worse pretty quick. It’s just staying patient.”
Added Munoz: “1-under on this golf course is always good.”.
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
+50 players still to complete first ronnds.
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Ha Na Jang (S Korea) 67 65
136 Stacy Lewis 66 70
137 Azahara Munoz (Spain) 66 71, Lydia Kog (NZ) 68 69
SELECTED SCORE
151 Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England) 77 74
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Stacy Lewis, Jessica Korda, and Azahara Munoz, the headliners atop the Coates Championship leaderboard, headed off the first tee in the morning wave after an hour and half delay looking to steal the show and ensure the season opener would go to a veteran.
South Korean rookie Ha Na Jang, the first to tee off in the afternoon wave at Ocala, Florida, had other plans, following up a first-round 67 with a scorching 7-under-par 65 that was four shots better than anyone else in the field that finished their round on Thursday.
Jang didn’t have to use her flat stick a ton after hitting four approaches inside three feet, but she saved her best work on the greens for last, draining a curling bender of a 25 footer on the last in dwindling light to complete the tournament’s best round yet.
“I think today my second shot were better,” Jang, the No. 21 ranked player in the world, said. “Very nice iron shots today.”
It was the type of steely calm performance far beyond a rookie in the season opener, leaving one reporter to ask if she felt like a rookie at 22 years of age.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m too old,” she said with a laugh.
Fifty players have still to complete their first rounds after the frost delay pushed back the afternoon wave.
Stacy Lewis sits in second at 8-under-par after a second-round 70. Lydia Ko (69), Azahara Munoz (70) are tied in third with Angela Stanford and Austin Ernst, who each have four and five holes left to play in the second round,
respectively. Pushing the second round into Friday morning came at the worst time for Stanford who was 6-under for the day and charging up the leaderboard.
When Lewis finished her round, she surely didn’t leave the golf course thinking there was a 66 out there and likely thought she’d enter Friday’s third round with a lead, not a four-shot deficit.
“We shot some 66s yesterday and I think that’s a great score on this golf course. The greens are just so tricky, there’s not a lot of hole locations on a couple of the greens, you have to hit it to the right spot,” Lewis said. “You can make some bogeys and worse pretty quick. It’s just staying patient.”
Added Munoz: “1-under on this golf course is always good.”.
FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
+50 players still to complete first ronnds.
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Ha Na Jang (S Korea) 67 65
136 Stacy Lewis 66 70
137 Azahara Munoz (Spain) 66 71, Lydia Kog (NZ) 68 69
SELECTED SCORE
151 Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England) 77 74
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES
CLICK HERE
Labels: LPGA TOUR
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