BELLEAIR, Fla. — Emily Kristine Pedersen is pulling out all the stops at Pelican Golf Club, backing up her Thursday 7-under 63 with a 5-under 65 on Friday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican to take a two-shot lead into the weekend in Belleair, Fla. The Denmark native got off to a quick start, making birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 to move to 9-under early, and then picked up another birdie on the par-5 14th hole to get to 10-under overall. Pedersen made two more birdies on holes 16 and 18 to turn in 30, and she kept the party going with a birdie on the par-4 1st hole, now sitting at 13-under with eight holes to play.
She dropped a shot on No. 3 and quickly erased that mistake with a birdie on the par-4 5th hole. The 27-year-old stumbled again with a bogey on the sixth hole but cleaned it up with a birdie on the seventh to get back to 13-under, but after parring No. 8, Pedersen ultimately bogeyed the par-3 9th hole to post a second-round 65 and break the 36-hole scoring record at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
It's the first time in her career that Pedersen has held a 36-hole lead/co-lead on the LPGA Tour, and her two-day total of 128 is her new career-low 36-hole score, besting her previous benchmark of 134 by a whopping six shots. It’s also just the third time that Pedersen has shot a round of 65 or better on Tour, most recently doing so last week during the final round of the TOTO Japan Classic, where she carded an 8-under 64.
While there were a couple of shots she’d like to have another go at, Pedersen was impressed with her ability to back up her opening 63 with another low round and will look for more of the same over the weekend at Pelican Golf Club.
“I started really well, 5-under on the front nine. Holed some good putts. I think the greens were so pure this morning. Not that they weren't this afternoon, but I had a few good rolls to start with,” said Pedersen, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 and 18 greens on Friday. “Then I think it got a little bit more windy out there, and my back nine was not as I hoped. I hit a few uncommitted golf shots that I'm a little bit mad at myself about. That happens. Hopefully, I can commit a bit more tomorrow and keep it going on the whole round.”
It's been a quiet season for Pedersen, who has missed four cuts and recorded just four top-20 finishes, and many were a bit surprised to see the Dane selected as a captain’s pick for the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin. But Pedersen proved herself in Andalucia, Spain, earning 2.5 points for the Europeans, who ultimately retained the Cup after tying the Americans with 14 total points and who recorded just the second hole-in-one in competition history during Friday’s afternoon fourball session.
Ahead of this week at Pelican Golf Club, Pedersen was ranked 80th in the Race to the CME Globe point standings, needing a solid finish to move inside the top-60 cutoff for the CME Group Tour Championship. After a strong start at Pelican Golf Club, she is currently projected to move up 44 spots to 36th and credits the confidence gleaned from her solid showing at the Solheim Cup as the catalyst for her solid play as of late.
“Definitely helped me that I could be one of the parts to help carry the team a bit,” said Pedersen. “I think I really stepped up in a way that I probably was a little surprised I did myself, and I think a lot of other people were surprised I did too, obviously not being the highest ranked or anything on the team. It definitely gave me the confidence to kind of have to be, okay, you have to perform now and go out and do it. So that was definitely something I'm building on.”
And now, with 36 holes to play and with the lead firmly in her grasp, Pedersen not only has a shot at teeing it up at Tiburon Golf Club next week, but she also has a chance to capture her first LPGA Tour victory, one that’s been a long time coming for the 29-year-old. But having learned from her past mistakes, Pedersen knows better than to let those thoughts creep in and will work hard to focus on what’s directly in front of her over the weekend at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
“I know where I am at (in) the CME (standings). I know I want to play next week as well,” Pedersen said. “But at the end of the day, I also know, and I've made this mistake so many times in the past, to think about, if I finish this, go in and look at the projected standings, and now I'm just like, you can't do anything about it. So, I'm just trying to focus on putting together a good day, a good hole, a good shot every day. So many times, I've looked ahead, and it's not gone well, so I'm trying to do something different.”
Another great day for @emilypedersen96 and she leads @theANNIKAlpga at -12 after the morning wave.
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 10, 2023
No. 80 in the #RacetoCMEGlobe, Pedersen has a chance to play next week if she keeps taking it swing by swing 💪 pic.twitter.com/Erb8ZMTEJe
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