NEED FOR SPEED
What helped Candie Kung (-14) put together her two best rounds of the year and tie her career low with an 8-under 64 on Friday at the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim? The four-time LPGA champion said the speed, fittingly, of the greens at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course fits her game and she’s able to see the breaks well on the Pete Dye design.
She also mentioned the speed of the greens at Columbia Edgewater Country Club were to her liking, which helped lead to a season-best T9 finish at last week’s Cambia Portland Classic presented by JTBC.
“It feels good,” said Kung, who had nine birdies on Friday. “I’ve been playing pretty good golf this year but I just haven’t been able to put them all together. Being able to put them together last week four rounds and then the last two rounds, it feels pretty good.”
KERR URGES FLORIDIANS TO PREPARE FOR HURRICANE IRMA
Miami native Cristie Kerr (-10) is playing well in Indianapolis this week but likely has a lot on her mind with the threat of Hurricane Irma looming on the state of Florida. Kerr implored anyone in the storm’s potential path to stay safe and be prepared for the worst.
“It doesn’t look good,” said Kerr, who now lives in Arizona. “My thoughts and prayers are with everybody. It does not look good. I can’t urge enough to people get supplies, get out of harm’s way, just don’t be in a stupid place. Just try to go to a hospital if you can’t ride it out anywhere else. Just go somewhere you know -- this is a really dangerous storm.”
CUT FALLS AT 2-UNDER
There will be 77 players competing in the final round on Sunday after the cutline took the top 70 and ties at 2-under or better. Only four players are within five shots of the lead set by Ko and Thompson - Candie Kung (-14), Ashleigh Buhai (-11), Cristie Kerr (-10) and Amy Olson (-10).
Notable players to miss the cut include Indianapolis native Danah Bordner (E), former World No. 1 Yani Tseng (E), World No. 13 and top-ranked European Anna Nordqvist (+1) and 2017 European Solheim Cup Team member Emily K. Pedersen (+6).
Dottie Ardina matched the low round of the day with an 8-under 64 to make the cut on the 2-under line.
SHEPHERD MAKES IT TO SATURDAY
Top-ranked junior golfer and Greenwood, Ind. native Erica Shepherd (-5) made her first LPGA cut in her second career start. The 2017 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship winner shot a 4-under 68 in the second round in front of friends and family and hopes to stay relaxed in the final round.
“It’s been great, just pro-am, practice round and turn around getting to play with such good players,” Shepherd said. “They do it for a living. Just getting to learn from them and see how my game compares to them, and then being able to play well, it’s been great.”
On Sunday, Shepherd will head up to Zionsville for the final day of the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, where her older brother, Ethan, is competing in his first collegiate golf tournament as a member of the Indiana University men’s golf team.
QUICK HITS
- The Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim is the last of three 54-hole LPGA events in 2017; the other two were the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer (-11, In-Kyung Kim) and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G (So Yeon Ryu).
- Lydia Ko has at least a share of the lead heading into the final round for the first time since the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, where she finished T3. Ko captured her 13th and 14th LPGA wins in the starts before and after that event.
- Ko has seven top-10 finishes on the season but has gone seven starts since her last one at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give in mid-June, while also missing two cuts in that span.
- Ko has not won since the 2016 Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I; she has one runner-up finish in 2017, coming at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hershey.
- Ko’s 36-hole score of 129 is the second-lowest in her LPGA career, behind only the 128 she returned en route to victory at the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
- Lexi Thompson has eight top-10 finishes in 2017, including a victory at the Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC and five runner-up finishes.
- Thompson’s 36-hole score of 129 is the lowest in her LPGA career, besting the 130s she shot at the 2017 Kingsmill Championship and 2013 Sime Darby LPGA Classic, which she won, and the 2017 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where she finished second in a playoff.
- This is the 14th time in Thompson’s LPGA career that she has held at least a share of the lead heading into the final round, and the fifth time this season.
- Candie Kung’s 36-hole score of 130 ties her career-low, which she previously shot at the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
- Through two rounds, the average score was over par on six holes (1, 7, 8, 12, 15, 16), with the par-4 8th hole playing as the hardest on the course (4.27 average).
QUOTABLE
“Yes, I did 130 in a Chevy Impala. That’s what I’m getting for my rental car next time.”
Candie Kung, on taking hot laps around the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
“I think no matter what ranked player you are, there’s also something you can improve on. In my season last year I felt like I could improve my ball striking. Unless I hit 100 fairways and 100 percent greens all the time, there’s always room for improvement.”
Lydia Ko, on why she made some changes to her swing this offseason
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