2015 Blue Bay LPGA
Sanya, Hainan Island, China
Second-Round Notes
October 30, 2015

LPGA Tour rookie Sei Young Kim shot even-par 72 on Friday to take the second-round lead at the Blue Bay LPGA in blustery conditions. Kim, who leads the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race, sits atop the leaderboard at 2-under par and one shot ahead of a group of four including Suzann Pettersen, Candie Kung, Ryann O’Toole and Austin Ernst. Pettersen had the low round of the day, 3-under 69, to move from T22 to tied for second.

Only five players broke par on Friday and only the top-5 on the leaderboard are under par through 36 holes.

Kim said she thrives in the windy conditions and said she likes hitting a low cut. Her two victories this season came in similar breezy surroundings in the Bahamas and Hawaii. She had two birdies and two bogeys in her round of 72 on Friday and birdied the 18th hole to take the outright lead. Kim said she looked at the leaderboard and saw that she would draw Pettersen as a playing partner on Saturday and considers the veteran a player she looks up to.

“Yeah, today it’s very tough,” said Kim. “I think I play with Suzann tomorrow. If I play with her, it’s the first time, so I’m very looking forward. When I was young, I watched her.”

Kim said she set the goal at the beginning of her rookie season that she wanted to get three wins in her first year and she got two in her first eight starts. With just four events left on the schedule, Kim said she has struggled staying patient.

“I think good position now, good opportunity come to me,” said Kim. “So I want to catch this opportunity. But I have to be patient because the past couple tournament, I was like too greedy and then I couldn’t be patient.”

American Stacy Lewis (71-73) is in a tie for sixth and just two shots back at even-par. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko improved by two shots (77-75) and moved into a tie for 47th at 8-over par.

NO. 2 PARK WITHDRAWS, CITES FINGER INJURY
Lydia Ko’s No. 1 ranking will be safely intact for another week after No. 2 Inbee Park withdrew prior to the second round citing a finger injury. Park said she has had a cyst develop on her left middle finger over the past three weeks and may be looking at options to remove it and is unsure when she will return to action.

TOUGH GETS TOUGHER
Looks of exhaustion and shaking heads were the common looks of players coming off the course on Friday and the common key to survival for many players was finding a way to be patient. Candie Kung, who shot even-par 72 said she had a countdown to the finish.

“It was really tough out there,” said Kung. “We were just battling out there counting down on holes. Just hitting one shot at a time and hoping that it bounced to the right quadrant and have a birdie putt at it.”

Kung said players are expecting some of the worst winds in the Asian swing to come in Taiwan but after her round Friday said that Sanya might be taking the cake. The waterlined course saw consistent gusts of up to 20 mph.

“We thought we left Taiwan already,” said Kung. “And then we come here, it’s even stronger. I actually asked my caddie today, “Is it stronger here or Taiwan.” It’s pretty much the same, because I was hitting pretty much the same shot to about the same number.”

Scoring averages for the first two rounds were 75.243 (first round) and 75.464 (second round).

QUOTABLE
“Kept myself in the tournament. Didn’t let it get away from me. One back going into the weekend. So starting the week, that would have been -- I would have taken that probably. So I’m right there, right there with 36 holes left” -Austin Ernst on her round of 3-over 75 and trailing the lead by one

FINAL PUSH IN THE RACE
With just three events left before the CME Group Tour Championship, players are ready for a final push to improve their positions in the Race to the CME Globe rankings. Sei Young Kim continued her solid play and is currently projected to move from 5th to 4th in the rankings. Suzann Pettersen can also make a big move and is currently projected to move from 17th to 11th in the rankings in her position (T2) through two rounds. The top-9 in the rankings after the Lorena Ochoa Invitational will have a mathematical chance at the $1 million bonus check at the CME Group Tour Championship.

RACE TO CME GLOBE - CURRENT STANDINGS (as of Oct. 30, 2015)

Rank	Player	Points Thru Fubon	Position After RD	Projected Points Position
1	Lydia Ko	4,828	T47	1
2	Inbee Park	3,944	WD	2
3	Stacy Lewis	3,110	T6	3
4	Lexi Thompson	2,727	N/A	-
5	Sei Young Kim	2,667	1	4
6	So Yeon Ryu	2,306	N/A	-
7	Amy Yang	2,302	T52	7
8	Anna Nordqvist	2,073	N/A	-
9	Shanshan Feng	1,937	T23	9
Thompson, Ryu and Nordqvist are not in the field this week at Blue Bay LPGA. Park withdrew before round 2

TV TIMES FOR THIS WEEK - BLUE BAY LPGA
Saturday (10/31)
8:00-10:30pm ET - Round 3 (Tape Delay)

Sunday (11/1)
8:00pm-12:00am ET - Final Round (Tape Delay)

All rounds will be streamed LIVE from 12:00-4:00am ET on the Golf LIVE Extra app and golfchannel.com

Sei Young Kim shoots even-par, takes second-round lead at Blue Bay LPGA

Related Articles