 | CONNELL GRANGE SUPPLY WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS STILL THE COMPANY |
|
Printable Page
05/08 19:02 CDT Jeeno Thitikul takes advantage of changing weather for a 69 to
open 3-shot lead on LPGA
Jeeno Thitikul takes advantage of changing weather for a 69 to open 3-shot lead
on LPGA
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. (AP) --- Jeeno Thitikul took advantage on a friendly change
in the weather Friday and closed with four birdies over her last seven holes to
build a three-shot lead in the Mizuho Americas Open.
Jennifer Kupcho shot 69 in the morning, finishing with a 15-foot par save on
the par-4 18th that was playing more than one shot over par for the early
starters. The greens were firm and the rough was thick, putting a premium on
par.
Thitikul experienced that when she didn't make a birdie until her eighth hole,
the par-5 17th. But then Mountain Ridge got just enough rain to take some of
the fire out of the course, and the wind seemed to leave town with the light
rain.
"Luckily we don't have much wind on the back nine after the rain came, and then
the wind just like shut down," Thitikul said. "Then we just lucky. If we got
the breeze (like on) the front nine, I don't think my number is going to be
that low, for sure."
She was at 8-under 136 going into the weekend with a chance to win for the
first time this year, and the first time since losing her No. 1 ranking to
Nelly Korda, who is not playing this week.
Conditions were so tough late in the morning that Lydia Ko had an easy time
accepting her 75 that ultimately put her six shots out of the lead.
"Probably one of the rare occasions where you shoot 75 and you're not like
stressing out too much about it," Ko said. "The greens are pretty undulating
and you leave yourself in some positions above the hole and you don't even know
if you can hold it on the green at that point."
Andrea Lee, who opened with a 66 for the first-round lead, had five bogeys in a
six-hole stretch on the front nine. She didn't make a birdie until the 16th
hole and shot 79.
Kupcho got out of position on the 17th late in her round and made bogey on a
par 5. The pin on the 18th was tucked over a bunker, making the approach
difficult. She went into the sand, splashed out to 15 feet and rammed in the
par putt. Kupcho has a serious demeanor when she plays, and she could not help
but to break out into a big smile.
She also questioned some of the tough pin positions on knobs of undulating
greens. And she had reason to think her 5-under 139 would hold up. It looked
like it would, at least until some rain and the absence of wind late in the
afternoon.
"Like 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, all of those pin placements were on the sides of a
hill," Kupcho said. "For the wind and the speed we're playing the greens, I
don't know that they're going to be playable this afternoon, to be quite honest.
"It's a really hard golf course," she said. "All of those greens on the back
nine are also just more undulated, so there is nowhere to put the pins. It's
just a really hard greens and that's what it is."
Brooke Matthews had a 72 and was four shots behind, while Celine Boutier of
France shot 68 and was five back at 3-under 141.
The cut was made to 50 and ties for this tournament, which features 24 top
players from the American Junior Golf Association competing in a Stableford
competition.
Among those missing the weekend were Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson and Sei
Young Kim.
Also missing was tournament host Michelle Wie West, though that wasn't a big
surprise. This is her first competition in three years as she gets ready for
her final U.S. Women's Open next month. She followed an 82 with an 80, making
birdie on her last hole.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
