KO STAYING CONFIDENT INTO WEEKEND
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko sits in good position heading into the weekend at the Kingsmill Championship. Ko was bogey-free in the second round on Friday and sits in a tie for third at 8-under 134.
“It was a pretty steady round. The front nine I gave myself a lot of looks for birdies, and a lot of them really slipped by,” Ko said after she went nine for nine in greens in regulation on the front nine, where she recorded three birdies.
Ko is feeling comfortable heading into the weekend four strokes behind leader Thompson. “Like I said yesterday, I feel like I’m putting good strokes on it,” Ko said. “That’s all I can do at the end of the day.”
So Yeon Ryu, who trails Ko by only .23 points in the Rolex Rankings, enters the weekend tied for 10th at 5 under, while defending Kingsmill champion Ariya Jutanguarn, who sits .25 points behind Ko, is tied for 25th at 3 under. With a win at Kingsmill, Ko will hold onto the World No. 1 ranking, but there are numerous scenarios that forecast Ryu or Jutanugarn taking over the top spot.
- If Lydia Ko wins, she will remain No. 1
- If either So Yeon Ryu or Ariya Jutanugarn win, they will become No. 1
- If Ko, Ryu and Ariya finish T2, Ko will remain No. 1
- If Ko and Ariya finish T2 AND Ryu finishes 3rd or worse, Ko will remain No. 1
So Yeon Ryu could take over No. 1 if any of the following scenarios (12th or better finish) occur:
- Ryu is T2 with Ariya AND Ko finishes 3rd or worse
- Ryu is 2nd alone AND Ko and Ariya finishes T3 or worse
- Ryu is 3rd alone AND Ko and Ariya finishes T4 or worse
- Ryu is 4th alone AND Ko finishes 6th or worse AND Ariya finishes 5th or worse
- Ryu is 5th alone AND Ko finishes 11th or worse AND Ariya finishes 6th or worse
- Ryu is 6th alone AND Ko is not in top 14 AND Ariya is not in top 6
- Ryu is 7th alone AND Ko is not in top 18 AND Ariya is not in top 7
- Ryu is 8th alone AND Ko is not in top 24 AND Ariya is not in top 8
- Ryu is 9th alone AND Ko is not in top 30 AND Ariya is not in top 9
- Ryu is 10th alone AND Ko is not in top 40 AND Ariya is not in top 10
- Ryu is 11th alone AND Ko is not in top 50 AND Ariya is not in top 11
- Ryu is 12th alone AND Ko is not in the top 61 AND Ariya is not in the top 12
Ariya Jutanugarn could take over No. 1 if any of the following scenarios (7th or better finish) occur:
- Ariya is 2nd alone AND Ko and Ryu finish T3 or worse
- Ariya is 3rd alone AND Ko is not in top 5 AND Ryu is not in top 3
- Ariya is 4th alone AND Ko is not in top 8 AND Ryu is not in top 4
- Ariya is 5th alone AND Ko is not in top 14 AND Ryu is not in top 5
- Ariya is 6th alone AND Ko is not in top 21 AND Ryu is not in top 7
- Ariya is 7th alone AND Ko is not in top 29 AND Ryu is not in top 8
ROOKIE ROUNDUP
The Kingsmill Championship field featured 21 of the 37 2017 LPGA Tour rookies, the most to tee it up at a tournament this season. After the 36-hole cut, 11 rookies will play through the weekend, with five sitting T25 or better.
Early Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award favorite Sung Hyun Park (-3, T25) is in good position to notch her eighth straight top-25 finish in as many starts, while Angel Yin (-4, T17) will look to gain some ground in the award standings as she sits 181 points behind Park. Madelene Sagstrom is T17 while Bronte Law (T25) and Nelly Korda (T25) round out the rookies in the top 25. Mariah Stackhouse posted a 3-under 68 on Friday to tie her career-best round and make her first cut as an LPGA member, sitting at T40.
QUOTABLE
“I feel like I belong out there and I feel like my game is as good as anyone’s.”
- Seven-year Tour veteran Gerina Piller on seeking her elusive first victory
“I did not start well. I made double bogey on the first hole. After that, walking to second tee I said, Forget it; start again.”
- In Gee Chun on her round of 5-under 66; after opening with a double bogey, shemade eight birdies coupled with just one additional bogey
QUICK HITS
Lexi Thompson’s 36-hole score of 12-under 130 ties for the second-lowest 36-hole score in tournament history; Jiyai Shin and Annika Sorenstam both shot 12-under 130s en route to their Kingsmill Championship victories
Thompson’s 36-hole score of 130 ties her career low, joining the 2017 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic and the 2013 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
In Gee Chun led the field with eight birdies in the second round, while Thompson has the most for the tournament with 13
Three players hit all 14 greens in regulation on Friday – Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Nelly Korda and Jing Yan
No players hit all 18 greens in regulation on Friday, while Thompson leads the field with 16 of 18 GIRs through two rounds
Brittany Lincicome leads the field in drive distance, averaging 287.8 yards off the tee; she ranks third on Tour for the season in average driving distance at 275.2 yards
Lydia Ko’s two-day total of 67-67—134 is four strokes better than her previous Kingsmill low of 70-68—138, which she shot in her first tournament appearance in 2014
With a bogey-free round on Friday, Ko is riding a streak of 30 holes without a bogey going back to her sixth hole on Thursday; Ko and Lizette Salas own the 2017 LPGA record for consecutive holes without a bogey, as both had unblemished scorecards at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup
This week marks In Gee Chun’s second start on the River Course; she finished T10 in 2016, a year which saw her recognized as the Rolex Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year
Shanshan Feng shot a second-round 67 on Friday to record a career-best tournament 36-hole score on the River Course of 6-under 136
Danielle Kang shot a 65 on Friday to record her lowest score of 2017; she previously shot a 66 in the final round of the LOTTE Championship
Friday marks the second time in Kang’s LPGA career she shot a 65, joining the second round of the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship; her career-low is a 64, recorded here at Kingsmill during the second round in 2012
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras’ second-round 65 is the lowest round of her LPGA career, besting the 66 she shot in the first round of the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
In three other starts this season Austin Ernst has fired a second-round 68; each time she held on to finish in the top eight (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, Honda LPGA Thailand, Kia Classic)
Of the six past Kingsmill champions in the field, 2014 champion Lizette Salas is the only one to miss the cut
Mariah Stackhouse is the only one of three sponsor invites to survive the cut, while the two Monday qualifiers (Brianna Do and Laura Jansone) missed the cut
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