ANN ARBOR, MI – Sung Hyun Park is living up to the hype.
With the nickname Shut Up and Attack, expectations were high for the 2017 rookie when she took up membership on Tour this season. Friday, Park fired a 7-under par, 65 to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club. Park sits at 12-under par through 36-holes, ahead of Suzann Pettersen and Minjee Lee at 10-under par. Lizette Salas, Cydney Clanton, Shanshan Feng, Sarah Jane Smith and Jennifer Song are tied for fourth at 9-under par.
“I started birdie-birdie on the first two holes and after that I kind of lost it a little bit,” Park said through an interpreter. “But going into the back nine, the first hole, on 10 I made a birdie, and from that point on I think my putting kind of came back alive.”
Park earned membership for 2017 by way of her finish on the 2016 money list, including four top-6 finishes. She dominated last season on the KLPGA, topping the money list with seven victories last season alone. Park has three times finished in the top-4 this season and leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings.
“I've definitely felt the pressure and that's probably one of the biggest reasons why I haven't performed up to my standards this year,” Park said. “This week I'm able to let things go a little bit more and play my game.”
While Park is new to the Tour she is no stranger to leading, having slept on the overnight lead three times on the LPGA Tour including the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open. She slept on the 36-hole lead at Cordevalle and played in the final group on Sunday, an experience she’s looking forward to having again this week.
“I have a huge expectation being in the final group, being that much closer to winning,” Park said. “But I have a lot of experience playing in the championship groups and I'll stick with my plan and play my game for the rest of the week.”
Lee went out in the morning wave and held the outright lead for much of the day, posting a season low 66 to lead at 10-under par. Lee was disqualified on Sunday of last week’s Kingsmill Championship after failing to sign her scorecard. It was a mistake she took full responsibility for and described as merely a “brain fart.”
“I mean I don't know how I missed it, but obviously I did and I got DQ’d. But it's okay, I can laugh about it now,” Lee told the media on Thursday. “I played good last week and I know my game's there.”
Lee has three top-5s in 2017. She finished tied for 20th at the LPGA Volvik Championship last season.
In the afternoon, Pettersen joined Lee in a tie for second at 10-under par with her second consecutive round of 67, which came as a surprise to the major champion.
“I usually play good the more tournaments I play, and last week was my first after a little bit of a break,” Pettersen told the media. “My game is starting to shape up. Playing good golf, hitting a lot of good putts. Just enjoying this golf course.”
Just two-strokes back heading into the weekend, Pettersen likes where she stands. She’s come from behind to win four of her 15 victories on Tour.
“If you can be somewhere around the top or within reach, there's a lot of golf to be played,” Pettersen said. “Obviously a great start the first two days. See if I can finish off a good round tomorrow and then finish off a good round Sunday. But take one day at a time here.”
The cut line fell at 1-under par, a line So Yeon Ryu hovered around throughout much of her second round. Ryu currently owns the longest running active cut streak on Tour, dating back to 2014. Ryu made the cut on the number to keep her streak alive. Notables failing to make the cut this weekend in Michigan include two-time major champion In Gee Chun (Even), Sei Young Kim (Even), Michelle Wie (+2), Morgan Pressel (+5) and U.S. Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster (+7).
Click here for complete scores from the second round of the 2017 LPGA Volvik Championship.
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