Sponsor Invite Jang Leads Through Two Rounds
Sponsor invite Su-Yeon Jang (-10) went birdie-par early Friday morning to finish her second round and take the lead at the LOTTE Championship Presented by HERSHEY after play was suspended Thursday evening due to darkness.
Jang’s win at the 2016 LOTTE Mart Women’s Open made her eligible to play in the 2017 LOTTE Championship. She was third on the KLPGA Money List in 2016 and had two KLPGA wins last season.
“Overall, my shots didn’t feel particularly solid, but my putts fell really well and gave me a number of birdies,” Jang said. “There were some risky moments, but I think a bit of luck during those moments and helped me end with a good score.”
The last time a sponsor invite won on the LPGA was Lydia Ko at the 2013 CN Canadian Women’s Open (also the last time an amateur won an LPGA event).
Cut Update
78 players finished at 1-under par or better through two rounds of play.
Day 2 Partial Round Recap
After a one-hour, 11-minute rain delay that hindered play for the second straight day at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hershey, the leaderboard is still taking shape, but with familiar names at the top.
Play was suspended at 3:31 p.m. HST and resumed at 4:42 p.m., and then called for the day at 7:04 p.m. due to darkness.
In-Kyung Kim and Ariya Jutanugarn finished their second rounds and were tied for the lead at 9-under. Su-Yeon Jang, who finished fifth here a year ago, is also at 9-under. She was through 16 holes when play was suspended for the day.
Jutanugarn, who has two runner-up finishes in 2017, is looking for her first victory of the season. The 2016 Race to the CME Globe winner fired a bogey-free 66 Thursday, including three-straight birdies on No’s 16, 17, and 18.
She said she didn’t actually hit the ball that well during the second round, but her putter kept her in it.
Kim, meanwhile, shot the round of the tournament so far – an 8-under-par 64 – on Thursday.
“Yesterday I hit the ball pretty well, I just didn’t make any putts. Today the putts were dropping,” she said.
Three players finished at 8-under, including Alena Sharp, Mi Hyang Lee, and Stacy Lewis.
Lewis, who is searching for her first LPGA Tour victory since 2014, said conditions got trickier as the day wore on, especially after the initial weather delay.
“The greens got slower,” she explained. “I would say that was the biggest difference: speed of the greens at the end of the day.”
Becky Morgan also sits at 8-under. She, like Jang, was bogey-free through 16 holes before play was called for the day.
Five players are just one more shot back at 7-under including Brittany Altomore, Nontay Srisawang, Amy Yang, Inbee Park, and ANA Inspiration winner So Yeon Ryu, meaning it will be a tight race to the finish. Ryu is off to a tremendous start this year, with two runner-up finishes to go along with her victory. She has yet to finish outside the top seven at any tournament in 2017, and credits a positive attitude for her successes so far.
“I always try not to be negative,” she said. “Let’s just think about my next shot instead of thinking about the (last) shot. I think just (having) a positive mind could help me make more putts for the weekend.”
There were 15 players left on the golf course when play was suspended. The second round will resume Friday morning and the cut will be made at its conclusion, with the Top 70 and ties making it into the third and fourth rounds. The cut is currently at even par.
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