Three years after winning the 2018 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, Ariya Jutanugarn is -9 overall after a second-round 66 and leads once again, only this time at Dumbarnie Links. Jutanugarn, who has won twice already in 2021 at the Honda LPGA Thailand and Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational alongside playing partner and sister Moriya, holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the eighth time in her career.
“I felt like after I played in the afternoon yesterday, it is really windy, and I feel like today going to be better in the morning, but actually it's not, so the wind start to blow really hard since like first hole and last three holes even worse. I feel pretty lucky I finish before everything to come,” said Jutanugarn.
The 25-year-old notched two birdies on the front nine. After a bogey on No. 10, the Thai regrouped to birdie Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17, while making every effort to stay as “chill” as possible.
“I don't really feel like I'm really confident or I'm not confident at all. But I think like just have to go day-by-day to me,” said Jutanugarn. “When I say I still have so much thing to work on, and to me, I just want to be chilling on the course because I know when I'm chilling on the course, everything going to take care of themselves.”
Charley Hull, Emily Pedersen and Atthaya Thitikul sit three strokes back of Jutanugarn in a tie for second at 6-under. Even with four birdies and only one bogey, Hull said she still felt a lower score was possible. “Left a few shots out there on the back nine. I left a seven-, eight-foot putt an inch off the hole but was dead in line. But the greens were slower today and they didn't double cut them,” said Hull. “Felt really good. Nice to be around home turf, even in Europe. Feels more like home.”
Six players are in a tie for fifth at -5, including U.S. Women’s Open champions Jeongeun Lee6 and Yuka Saso, along with the leading Scot player through two rounds, Kelsey MacDonald. Lee6 is making her second appearance in the TGWSO and first since 2019, when she finished in a tie for second as a Tour rookie. “In the range, I prepared just control shot. The green is a little bit slow today. So I focused on just speed, putting,” said Lee6, who started bogey-birdie-bogey, and ended the day with five more birdies to post a 68.
71 players made the cut at +2, including defending champion Stacy Lewis (+1) and first-round leader Michele Thomson (+1). Notables to miss the weekend in Fife include major champions Hannah Green (+3), Brittany Lincicome (+3) and Minjee Lee (+6). Caroline Masson withdrew during the second round.
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