Play was suspended at 5:09pm CT during round two of the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic due to lightning in the area. Play resumed at 6:45pm CT before being called for the day due to darkness at 7:12pm. Play will resume at 7:30am CT on Saturday morning.
Perhaps Stacy Lewis said it best on Thursday when she said her playing partner Yani Tseng looked like the old Yani.
The old Yani was in fact back again on Friday as the former World No.1
took a one-stroke lead in the second round of the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. Tseng carded an 8-under par 64 on Friday that included six birdies and an eagle to climb to 10-under par, one stroke ahead of afternoon leader Austin Ernst.
Currently ranked 75th in the Rolex World Golf Ranking, Tseng dropped out of the top spot in the rankings in 2013 and has yet to win since 2012. Tseng has showed signs of returning to form in recent weeks, with three top-22 finishes in her last four starts. The last time Tseng held the 36-hole lead was the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship where she finished third.
“Just very happy my game's really coming back,” Tseng said Friday. “I'm really happy to playing golf on the course and just I want to win. But it doesn't matter, it will come. It doesn't matter if it's this week or next week or next year, just try to be patient as much as I can and stay positive.”
Tseng holds a one-stroke lead ahead of Ernst, who sits alone in second at 9-under par. She had a rollercoaster day that included eight birdies, three bogeys and an eagle en route to a 7-under par, 65. At 9-under par, Ernst holds a one-stroke lead ahead of her playing partner today, Lexi Thompson. The two fed off each other to make a combined 13 birdies and an eagle in round two.
"We both had a string of birdies there on the front nine. She was hitting it well," Ernst said Friday. "Yesterday we actually said, I said something to her after we finished, I don't think either one of us missed a green yesterday, so we're like let's just putt better tomorrow and we'll shoot a low number. She shot like five or six and I shot I think seven. So definitely when you see putts going in with other people, too, I think it just kind of gives you a little bit more confidence that you can just take it deep."
For much of the morning Thompson held the outright lead or shared it with Ernst. Thompson posted a bogey-free, 5-under par, 67 in round two to climb to 8-under par, one back of Ernst. She has had success on this track for several years, winning on the Senator Course in 2011 for her first victory on the LPGA Tour and finished runner-up in 2012.
“It helps knowing the golf course really well. I've come back to this tournament many years,” Thompson said after her round Friday. “I always love coming to Alabama and playing this golf course. It's probably in the best shape I've seen it, especially the greens are rolling really well. Every golf course changes every year, so just got to keep on learning.”
The projected cut is currently 2-over par.
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