2 time champ Anna Nordqvist tied for ShopRite LPGA lead
GALLOWAY, N.J. – Two-time champion Anna Nordqvist shot a 5-under 66 on Friday for a share of the first-round lead with Laura Diaz and Celine Herbin in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Nordqvist won the 54-hole event in 2015 and 2016 on Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course and finished second last year. Teeing off Friday in the afternoon when the wind was stronger, the 30-year-old Swede closed her bogey-free round with a birdie on the par-5 ninth.
“Honestly, I have a lot of good memories from here,” Nordqvist said. “It’s a place that makes me happy. I seemed to be striking the ball better today than for most of the year, so I was very consistent, gave myself a lot of chances. I was trying to stay patient out there and I’m very happy to post a good round.”
Brittany Marchand (69) of Orangeville, Ont., was the low Canadian was tied for 28th at 2 under, while Maude-Aimee Leblanc (70) of Sherbrooke, Que., was tied for 49th at 1 under. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., were tied for 66th after shooting identical even-par 71s.
The eight-time LPGA Tour winner is seeking her ninth career victory, has missed the cut in three of her last five events. She is currently 54th on the LPGA money list with more than $132,000 in earnings.
The 43-year-old Diaz made the field as an alternate. She played in the morning when the greens were smoother and the wind more benign and carded five birdies.
Her 12-year-old son, Cooper, was on the bag for her first competitive LPGA Tour round of the year.
“It’s more special because I have my son with me,” Diaz said. “It was great. He wasn’t nervous. He was perfect. So it’s a calming influence. I think I spent more time worrying about him.”
Herbin, 35, birdied the final two holes.
Lydia Ko, In-Gee Chun and ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindberg were at 67 with Sandra Gal, Su Oh, Beatriz Recari, Amy Yang and Wayne, New Jersey native Marina Alex. Defending champion I.K. Kim had a 68.
Shanshan Feng, at No. 4 the top-ranked player in the field, shot 69.
Leona Maguire, the former Duke star from Ireland, had a 69 in pro debut.
Canadian Brittany Marchand sits T28.
Jutanugarn wins US Women’s Open on fourth playoff hole
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In some of the bleakest moments during Ariya Jutanugarn’s back-nine collapse at the U.S. Women’s Open, the 22-year-old from Thailand would take a deep breath, smile to herself and think happy thoughts.
The mind tricks weren’t working, but she wasn’t going to stop trying.
Finally, after an excruciating few hours of golf, the positive vibes came true.
Jutanugarn lost a seven-shot lead on the back nine before prevailing on the fourth hole of a playoff to win at Shoal Creek on Sunday for her second major championship.
She made a nearly perfect bunker shot to within a foot of the cup on the tournament-clinching hole, beating South Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim, who shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to force the playoff.
It was not an easy up-and-down for Jutanugarn, who said she didn’t have a particularly good lie in the sand. Somehow, she kept her cool.
“I felt pretty good,” Jutanugarn said about her mood before the shot. “I don’t know why.”
She felt even better when the ball rolled close enough for an easy putt. A collapse that would have gone down in U.S. Women’s Open lore was about to be averted.
Jutanugarn said support from her family and coaches helped her stay positive and come through with her ninth LPGA Tour win.
“I know everything’s going to be the same and they’re going to love me the same,” Jutanugarn said.
Jutanugarn started the day with a four-shot lead over Australia’s Sarah Jane Smith and looked like she might win easily after opening with a 4 under on the front nine to stretch her lead to seven shots.
But a triple bogey on No. 10 cut the lead to four and rocked her confidence, especially with her 3-wood. She still had a two-shot lead with two holes remaining, but closed with back-to-back bogeys to fall into a playoff after shooting 73.
Jutanugarn and Kim shot 11-under 277 in regulation.
In the end, Jutanugarn’s slow-motion collapse set up an emotional victory and her second major win. She also won the Women’s British Open in 2016.
The format for the playoff was a two-hole aggregate on 14 and 18, but the players were still tied after the two holes. The format then switched to sudden death, alternating between the same holes.
Kim looked like she might win the two-hole aggregate after making a long birdie putt on 14 while Jutanugarn settled for par. But Kim made bogey – her first of the day – on 18 while Jutanugarn made par again to send the format to sudden death.
On the fourth playoff hole at 18, both players went into greenside bunkers. Kim’s shot out of the bunker was decent, but Jutanugarn’s was phenomenal, rolling right next to cup and setting up an easy par putt.
Kim missed her putt for par and Jutanugarn tapped in for the win, turning toward her caddie and family for a happy, tearful embrace.
Jutanugarn looked nearly invincible during Saturday’s third round when she made her move into the lead with a 67, powering through the soggy Shoal Creek course with ease. It was more of the same for a while Sunday when she extended her lead to seven shots.
But things were about to get rough in a hurry.
Jutanugarn hit her tee shot into the hazard on the 10th and then had a three-putt for a triple bogey. Her confidence shaken, she had another bogey on 12 and the tournament was suddenly much closer than anyone expected.
While Jutanugarn was fading, the 22-year-old Kim was rolling. She made putt after putt to put pressure on Jutanugarn, including a 50-footer on 15 that pulled her within one shot of the lead. Like everyone else, she was shocked she was still in contention.
“Honestly, I didn’t really worry too much about it because I just focused on how I was going to play,” Kim said through a translator. “It did not really enter my mind that I was going to come that close.”
She couldn’t quite complete the comeback, which would have been the biggest in the final round in U.S. Women’s Open history.
Smith, a 33-year-old from Australia, had a three-shot lead going into the weekend after back-to-back 67s, but finished the tournament with two straight disappointing rounds. She was in the final group with Jutanugarn, but had a 78 on Sunday to fall into a tie for fifth.
Australian Smith stages another 67 at US Women’s Open
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sarah Jane Smith outpaced the thunderstorms and the rest of the field at the U.S. Women’s Open.
The Australian extended her lead to four strokes after a second straight 5-under 67 Friday at Shoal Creek. Smith got her round in before a 2-hour, 49-minute delay caused by thunderstorms, weather that ultimately forced play to be halted with a little daylight left.
Now, she enters the weekend leading a major championship, unfamiliar territory, but also with 36 holes down. Other contenders like Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn still must finish Round 2, which will be completed on Saturday with the low 60 scorers plus ties making the cut. Half the field didn’t finish the round.
Smith is at 10-under 134 heading into the weekend after failing to make the cut in five of her previous six U.S. Women’s Open tries.
“I haven’t been in the position before, I but I hope to show up like it’s another day,” Smith said. “I’m happy with the way I’m playing. I feel comfortable on the greens which has been something that has been a little bit off lately. So it’s nice to be able to feel like I’m seeing the greens really well and seeing some putts go in. Hopefully that keeps going.”
Smith has staged a strong comeback after having missed the cut in five straight LPGA Tour events this year, even switching back to an old set of clubs
She opened the day in a three-way tie atop the leaderboard with Jutanugarn and Korean Jeongeun6 Lee.
Jutanugarn had an opening birdie to move to 6 under through eight holes. Lee fell back to 2 under with a second-day 75. Korean-born Su-Hyun Oh shot 68 and is also 6 under.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was tied for 60th at 4-over par through seven holes when play was suspended. Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot, Que., will miss the cut after shooting an 8-over 80.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., withdrew from the tournament early Friday morning to attend to a family emergency.
Smith has played 5-under on the back nine holes each of the first two days and settled for par on the front. She had a 29-hole bogey-free streak end with a three-putt on No. 8 – she started on the 10th tee – a rare mistake for her at the midway point.
Duane Smith, his wife’s caddie since qualifying school, could only compare her current play with a clutch Futures Tour performance to earn her Tour card a decade ago.
“She’s playing so good,” Duane Smith said. “Maybe years ago when she won the last event on the Futures Tour to get a card at the end of 2008. She had to win to get her card and she did and she opened up that nine holes, I think, 7-under on the front nine and then led the whole way. She played great that whole week but this is something totally different.”
Oh, who was born in Korea but moved to Australia at age 8, had an eagle on the par-4 15th hole. She is still chasing Smith, along with everyone else.
“We were looking at the leaderboard saying Sarah is very greedy, just taking all the birdies,” Oh said.
The course had taken heavy rains during the week, raising concerns about the course’s condition, but the sun held out for most of the tournament’s first two days. Play only continued for about an hour after the delay.
“It’s weird because it’s playing longer because it’s so soft but so hot so the irons are going really far,” Oh said. “So it’s just hard to guess and it swirls a lot within the trees so it’s just really difficult clubbing.”
Seven players are at 3 under, including amateur Linn Grant of Sweden and No. 1-ranked Inbee Park. Grant shot 72 and Park 71.
Defending champion Sung Hyun Park finished 9 over after a 76 and 77, which would be well below the projected cut line. Stacy Lewis, the 2012 player of the year, is among a big group just above the cut line at 4 over (through eight holes).
Sitting at 3 under after a 68, Spain’s Carlotta Ciganda said she was surprised to see any one at double-digits under par like Smith.
“I think at the end of the four days not many people will be there because it always happen in the U.S. Open,” Ciganda said. “I’m not too worried. I’m just trying to play my game, follow my strategy and try to hit fairways and greens and I think there can be a few good scores but not many.”
Brooke Henderson 6 strokes behind lead after first round of US Women’s Open
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Brooke Henderson recorded a 1-over 73 after the first round of the US Women’s Open. She struggled coming out of the gate recording birdies on holes 1, 2 and 4. She finished T44 while Canadian Alina Sharp finished 3-over 75 and Team Canada member, Celeste Dao, finished 11-over 83.
The sun shone brightly at rain-soaked Shoal Creek. So did Ariya Jutanugarn, Sarah Jane Smith and Jeongeun6 Lee.
Jutanugarn, Smith and Lee each shot a 5-under 67 to share the first-round lead, where the course held up better than some feared after heavy rains in recent days.
Thailand’s Jutanugarn spent hours in front before Smith and Lee caught her in the evening.
Jutanugarn is coming off a Kingsmill Championship win and kept up the momentum, including an eagle on No. 6. She said she started focusing more on each shot instead of worrying about the big picture.
“At Kingsmill, I started (saying) I’m not going to think about the outcome,” the eight-time LPGA Tour winner said. “I’m not going to think about winning the tournament.”
Jutanugarn and the Australian Smith each had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys. The Korean Lee, meanwhile, had five birdies on a course that has been drenched in recent weeks, forcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s practice round and limiting course time on the eve of the tournament.
Danielle Kang, 2014 winner Michelle Wie, Korean Ji-Hyun Kim and Swedish amateur Linn Grant were 3 under. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was tied for 44th at 1-over 73 and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 3-over 75.
Smith and Lee have never won on the LPGA Tour.
Now, they find themselves in the unfamiliar position of holding a share of the lead at a major championship _ and trying not to get caught up in it.
“It’s pretty early,” Smith said. “I think later on in the week it might be easier to get ahead of yourself. (Friday) morning I have got to make sure that it’s just a new day and not worry too much about where I am. Whether that’s possible, I don’t know. I would like to say that.”
Lee wasn’t getting carried away either. “Well, it’s just the first round, just started it,” she said.
There were doubts about the state of the picturesque course and whether USGA officials would have to play lift, clean and place for the first time at a championship thanks to nearly five inches of rain on the week.
So far, so good.
Jutanugarn said it was the only time she can remember as a pro when she wasn’t able to see the entire course before a tournament, having played only the first nine holes in practice. It wasn’t just the rain but her golf clubs arrived late.
She might as well have left the driver at home, so far.
“I hit 3-wood almost every hole,” Jutanugarn said. “I hit 2-iron maybe twice off the tee.”
Lee parred the first five holes before heating up. She arrived last Wednesday from Korea and played nine holes several times.
“My main strategy today was not to have a bogey and I think that worked and also when I went to a more difficult situation I try not to get into trouble,” she said. “I stay out of it.”
Top-ranked Inbee Park shot 70. No. 3 Lexi Thompson is 1 under. Defending champion Sung Hyun Park shot 76.
Kang had four birdies and a bogey. Her brother Alex, also a professional golfer, got her to start practising with mud balls as a teenager.
“It actually gave me a sense of calm,” Kang said. “It wasn’t, oh, crap, there is mud.
“You have to adjust, what is this mud going to do, how is it going to affect the shot.”
England’s Mel Reid is in a group at 2 under, a few weeks after hiring a new coach. She had missed eight of nine cuts on the LPGA Tour this year.
Reid said she decided to play the ball down in the wet conditions Wednesday.
“Let’s get the mud balls and just kind of deal with it,” she said. “And I honestly think that’s one of best things we could have done. It wasn’t a surprise to us today.
“You are going to get mud balls. You have got to accept it. It’s going to cost you one shot. But it’s going to be the same for everybody. Whoever deals with it the best is going to have the better outcome.”
Team Canada’s Dao practices for U.S. Open with nation’s best
SHOAL CREEK, Ala. — Celeste Dao stood on the first tee at the Shoal Creek Club on Wednesday and had her picture taken.
The 17-year-old from Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., a member of Golf Canada’s National Development Squad, posed with Canadian star Brooke Henderson before they teed off for a practice round in preparation for the U.S. Women’s Open which gets underway Thursday.
Dao, who qualified for the second major of the women’s season with rounds of 71-69 at Cape Cod National Golf Club last week, wanted to capture a big moment in her young career, a moment she said she never thought she would experience this early in her career.
“I would not have imagined me being here. If you asked me in January what were my goals this year, I wouldn’t say being in the U.S. Open. That is a really high level for me. Being here, I’m so, so happy,” she said.
After a practice round with veteran Alena Sharp of Hamilton on Monday and nine holes with Henderson on Wednesday, who were both gracious to take a young player under their wings the week of a major, Dao was thrilled with the experience.
“It was great, playing with the best in Canada,” she said after her round Wednesday with Henderson.
What did she pick up?
“(Henderson)’s great around the greens. I was looking at her and how she managed to take notes of the greens with her sister (her caddie, Brittany) and calculating everything. She does that much more than me. It was really fun to watch that and how she spots her targets off the tee,” Dao said.
Henderson, 20, said she was happy to oblige Dao and recalled her days as a teenager (not so long ago) and the thrill of being on such a big stage.
“It’s pretty cool to see young, up-and-coming Canadians,” Henderson said. “She was hitting it really well today. I think she is just really excited to be here. She should be. It’s really amazing. It was one of the best experiences I ever had, so I think she will really enjoy this week.”
Dao said her goal for the week is “watching the girls and getting the most experience. For a score, I will try and make the cut.”
Dao said Sharp gave her some tips on how to manage her nerves on the biggest stage in women’s golf.
“She talked to me a lot, just giving me advice to manage the stress on the first tee. She said stick to the routine. Breathe and stick to the routine. It’s normal to feel stress. Enjoy the moment and go,” she said.
Dao has spent the past three months in Victoria, BC, with the national development squad. She had her first international victory at the beginning of the month when she won the Mexican Junior Girls Championship with a final round 66 and prevailed in a three-hole playoff over Mexico’s Corey Lopez.
“My year was really great,” Dao said. “Each step is bigger for me and I try to achieve bigger goals. It’s great so far.”
The experience here at the U.S. Open is going to help her the rest of this season, she said.
“This is going to give me a boost. Just learning all this. Once you see the greatest, it helps you so much.”
Rested Brooke Henderson eyes second major title at U.S. Women’s Open
Brooke Henderson has played more on the LPGA Tour than anyone else the last two years, so it was interesting to see her skip a tournament in the middle of the season last week.
But with the U.S. Women’s Open starting Thursday at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., the young Canadian wanted to get as prepared as she could be for what is usually the toughest test on tour.
“The majors bring that little bit extra,” said the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., who took a pass on the Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“It’s a completely different atmosphere and it’s the greatest feeling in the world to know you’re competing and have a chance to win a major. Having won one in 2016 was the coolest thing ever, so I’m just really excited for when I can hold another major trophy.”
The lone major triumph for Henderson, 20, was the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, when she toppled then No. 1-ranked Lydia Ko in a playoff. She has won six times on the LPGA Tour, including once this year at the Lotte Championship in April.
Henderson returned to her home in Naples, Fla. last week in order to get used to the different kind of grass she’ll play on this week, along with the sticky early-June heat.
In 2013, when Henderson was just 15, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, and went on to make the cut, her first on the LPGA Tour. Her best result is a tie for fifth, which came in 2015.
“The U.S. Women’s Open has always been special to me,” said Henderson. “Some tournaments just mean a little bit more to you and you feel a little more confident and that’s what I feel at the U.S. Women’s Open.”
Shoal Creek is no stranger to hosting big events, including the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. But Shannon Rouillard, the U.S. Women’s Open championship director, says the setup for this week’s championship will be unique.
She says the United States Golf Association has intentionally narrowed some fairways and also added some closely mowed areas around the greens to force players to think about the shot they’re going to play versus just chopping out of thick rough.
Rouillard, who also runs the U.S. women’s amateur championship, remembers watching Henderson as a 14-year-old, and says she is a tremendous player. However, she’ll still need to bring her A-game this week.
“She hits the ball a long way, she’s a good putter ? but she’s still going to have to make the shots, think her way around the course, and manage her game accordingly,” Rouillard said.
Henderson has been solid from tee to green this year, sitting in the top 10 in a handful of key statistical categories. However, she is 73rd in putting average, and has used four different putters this year.
Henderson says she has returned to an older putter that she used for her first LPGA Tour win in 2015, and had that putter in her bag two weeks ago en route to a tie for fourth at the Kingsmill Championship, her fifth top-10 finish of the year.
Her biggest strength is with the driver, and according to Tom Lehman, the former No. 1-ranked golfer in the world who won back-to-back Regions Traditions titles on PGA Tour Champions in 2011-12 at Shoal Creek, that will be a key for success this week.
“If you had to get right down to brass tax, like what is absolutely necessary, you have to drive the ball well. It’s a great driver’s golf course. It’s a sensational course for those who drive the ball well,” Lehman said. “The longer you can hit it, the straighter you can hit it, the bigger advantage you have.”
Henderson never has played Shoal Creek and admits there is a lot of pressure to “learn one of the toughest courses in America.”
But she’s excited for the opportunity to play for one of golf’s biggest titles.
“I do feel that the major championships do fit my game a little bit, because the courses are longer, I tend to play better on tougher courses generally which is always a good thing,” Henderson said. “As long as I’m feeling healthy and not tired, I feel like mentally I can out-grind a lot of the players out there, which is always a really great thing.”
Birdie on 18 gives Lee a victory on her birthday
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Minjee Lee birdied the 18th hole Sunday for a one-stroke victory over In-Kyung Kim at the LPGA Volvik Championship.
Lee, who turned 22 on Sunday, three-putted for a bogey on No. 17, dropping into a tie with Kim, who finished her round around the same time. So Lee needed a birdie to win on 18, a reachable par 5. Her second shot landed a few feet to the right of the green, and she calmly chipped to about 3 feet
She made the putt to finish at 4-under 68 and 16 under for the tournament. It was the Australian standout’s fourth career victory and first since 2016.
Kim (67) shot a 32 on the back nine and birdied No. 18, but it wasn’t enough to force a playoff at Travis Pointe Country Club.
Moriya Jutanugarn (65) finished third at 14 under.
Lee took a two-stroke lead into the final round, and that was her margin over playing partner Stacy Lewis before Lewis (71) bogeyed No. 7 and 8. Kim emerged as the biggest threat to Lee when she birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine. Lewis is playing five months’ pregnant with her first child.
Kim and Lee were briefly tied at 15 under, but then Lee made a tap-in birdie on the par-5 14th, while Kim bogeyed 15.
Lee saved par on 15 despite a wayward drive into a bunker, and she’d actually gone 38 consecutive holes without a bogey before making one on the par-4 17th. That, combined with Kim’s birdie on 18, left the two golfers tied, but Lee still had the 18th to come.
Su Oh (68) and Lindy Duncan (69) finished at 13 under, and Megan Khang (67) was another stroke back. Lewis _ playing five months’ pregnant _ finished at 11 under along with Ariya Jutanugarn (69) and Danielle Kang (70).
Lee lost this event by one stroke last year. Shanshan Feng, the 2017 winner, finished tied for 21st this time.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc was the top Canadian finish at the championship. The Sherbrooke, Que. native ended the tournament at 4-under. Fellow Canadians Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. finished with a 1-under.
Brittany Marchand T25 after third round of the LPGA Volvik Championship
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Britany Marchan shot an even 72 on Saturday at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbour, Mich. She started off strong recording two birdies on holes 3 and 4 but then but slowed down recording bogeys on holes 7, 11 and 16 with one more birdie on hole 14.
Minjee Lee shot a 4-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round, with Stacy Lewis tied for second playing five months’ pregnant.
Lee capped a bogey-free third round with a birdie on No. 18 to get to 12 under, and the Australian standout will try to celebrate her birthday with her first victory of the year. She turns 22 on Sunday.
Lewis (67) birdied five of the last six holes to match In-Kyung Kim (67), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) and Lindy Duncan (69) at 10 under. There were nine players within three strokes of Lee.
Play was interrupted for about two hours by a weather delay, but everyone was able to finish.
Lee lost this tournament by one stroke last year.
Canadian Brittany Marchand T12 at LPGA Volvik Championship
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Brittany Marchand of Orangeville Ont. is the top Canadian through 36 holes, tied for twelfth at the LPGA Volvick Championship at Travis Point Country Club. The 25-year-old will enter round three at 5-under after a second-round 69. Maude-Aimee Leblanc (71) of Sherbrooke, Que. is 1 under while Anne-Catharine Tanguay (70) of Quebec City missed the cut at 1 over.
After losing in a playoff last weekend, Nasa Hataoka is making another bid for her first LPGA Tour victory.
Hataoka shot a 4-under 68 on Friday, and the Japanese teenager led by one stroke over Minjee Lee after the second round of the Volvik Championship. Hataoka, who is coming off the first two top-10 finishes of her LPGA career, made seven birdies at Travis Pointe Country Club. She began her round on No. 10, and her best stretch came toward the end, when she birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 6.
“I’m really comfortable playing the LPGA,” the 19-year-old Hataoka said through a translator. “I’ve really got confidence now.”
Hataoka made the cut nine times in 17 starts as a rookie in 2017, and she has made significant strides of late. She tied for seventh at last month’s MEDIHEAL Championship and nearly won a week ago at the Kingsmill Championship in Virginia.
Hataoka finished the second round in Michigan at 9 under. Lee (69) was also solid Friday. Gaby Lopez (68), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (70) and Lindy Duncan (70) were a stroke behind Lee in a tie for third.
Hataoka did not make a single bogey in last week’s three-round tournament, and she didn’t have any in the first round in Michigan. She finally made a few Friday, but that didn’t stop her from taking sole possession of the lead.
“I kind of feel like not really perfect, but I just kind of try to (be) aggressive,” she said.
Lee, who lost by one stroke on this course last year, is in contention again.
“I guess the fairways are pretty generous and I think the greens are a little bit on the trickier side to read,” Lee said. “As long as your iron shots are pretty solid, I think you’re going to be in good position around this golf course.”
Lee birdied the first two holes, and the only blemish on her scorecard Friday came on the par-5 14th. After missing the fairway to the right, she hit an aggressive shot out of the rough that went straight toward a water hazard well in front of the green. She settled for a bogey after taking a drop.
“I thought the ball was sitting OK in the rough, but it must have been a bit funny, or underneath it,” she said. “I made a mistake. I thought it was good enough to hit 3-wood there.”
Lee lost last year in Michigan to Shanshan Feng, but Feng will have some ground to make up in her attempt to repeat. She shot 69 on Friday but is still eight strokes behind the leader.
Ariya Jutanugarn was 6 under after a second consecutive 69.
Lopez made only six pars in the second round, tied for the fewest of the day, but her eight birdies and four bogeys put her near the top of the leaderboard.
“It was a little bit of an up and down,” she said. “There’s so many opportunities out here to make birdie, that the most important thing to do is just to be patient, to be in the moment and not to get ahead of yourself. I think I came back from a couple mistakes that I did.”
NOTES: In contrast to Lopez, Brittany Lincicome parred all 18 holes Friday and made the cut at 1 under. … Paula Creamer (71) triple bogeyed the par-4 13th. She followed that with an eagle on the very next hole but missed the cut by a stroke.
BMW Group Korea to host LPGA tournament beginning in 2019
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan and BMW Group Korea’sChairman Hyo Joon Kim announced on May 23 that BMW Group Korea will host a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournament beginning in 2019 in the Republic of Korea. The tournament purseis set for $2 million, with the winner’s portion to be $300,000.
The tournament will take place at LPGA International Busan, located in Gijang County in Busan Metropolitan City, and will first be held in October 2019. LPGA International Busan is the LPGA’s firstgolf facility outside the United States. The opening of this LPGA-accredited golf facility marks the first of many projects the Association plans to create in Busan, including an LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Center and LPGA regional qualifying school.
Chairman Kim said, “BMW is a global brand and already sponsors many global events on the PGA TOUR and the European Tour. For the next three years, they will apply their know-how of the golfindustry to the women’s golf tournament in Korea and look forward to making many contributions to thegrowth of the Tour. We will work together in collaboration with Busan Metropolitan City and the LPGA tomake sure we create an outstanding event.”
LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan said, “We are so excited to partner with BMW, and to bring the LPGA to the wonderful city of Busan, Korea. This tournament has all the ingredients of a world class event—great Brand, great city, great golf course, and the best female golfers on the planet. This will be big!”
BMW currently sponsors the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship and BMW International Open, along with the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship. First started in 1955, the BMW PGA Championshipboasts 13 years of BMW sponsorship dating back to 2005. Additionally, the BMW International Open celebrates its 30th edition on the European Tour this season, having been sponsored by BMW since 1989.