KANG ENJOYING THE LIMELIGHT
Danielle Kang will play in the final group for the second consecutive day on Saturday, which happens to be her 26th birthday. Anyone who knows the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Champion knows that’s exactly where she wants to be.
“I'm just excited,” said Kang. “I like being -- I mean, everyone knows me. I like attention. I like being in the final group. I like having crowds. So it's fun. At the end of the day, you just enjoy. You work hard to be in the final groups and work hard to be in the hunt and be the leader and chasing the leaders. That's why we play.”
ARE YU READY FOR IT?
Yu Liu has started with back-to-back rounds of 69 and leads the 20 Chinese players who are contending to win an LPGA tournament on home soil this week. The 2018 LPGA rookie is playing well and enjoying being in the spotlight this week, signing loads of autographs and doing several interviews after every round.
Liu thinks last week was a big help, when she played alongside some of the world’s best in Sung Hyun Park and Minjee Lee in the second round. Albeit uncomfortable, she says that experience was huge in preparing her for the atmosphere in China this week.
When asked what that round next to Park and Lee was like, Liu said, “I was just kind of spaced out the entire round. I couldn't really concentrate on any part of my game. My routine was off. Everything was a little bit off.”
NO PRESSURE ON KIM
Sei Young Kim admitted she felt a lot of pressure playing in front of a home crowd at last week’s LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in the Republic of Korea, where she finished T21 with just one of her four rounds in the 60s. This week in Shanghai that extra pressure is off, and she feels comfortable playing in a country where she’s already won at the 2015 Blue Bay LPGA.
Kim said, “When I play well in China and the U.S. my thinking is pretty simple. When I’m thinking too much I play really bad. Last week I play in my country, I was too much thinking. I got pressure especially in my country. I too much wanted to win that tournament; that's the reason why I played not good. This week I’m trying to empty my mind and then trying simple my mindset and then just go for it.”
HERE COME THE BRITTANYS
Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Altomare each came out firing on Friday to put themselves in contention in Shanghai and both sit tied for fourth at -7.
Altomare, who shot a 6-under 66 on Friday, is hoping to step into the winner’s circle for the first time in her career and become the next American to win on the LPGA. Should she win, Altomare would join Lincicome and five other players from the United States with victories in 2018.
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 15 Sei Young Kim (1, -10)
- Kim, 25, is from Seoul, Republic of Korea, 23
- Kim leads in a tournament after the second round for the 10th time in her LPGA career – five of her seven titles have come when she held at least a share of the second-round lead
- Kim is one of seven Korean players to win on the LPGA in 2018
- Kim’s only win in Asia was in China at the 2015 Blue Bay LPGA
- Kim posted her 31st round in the 60s of the season with her 67 on Friday
- Kim is a seven-time LPGA winner, including the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic where she finished at 31-under par breaking the all-time LPGA 72-hole scoring record by four strokes
- Kim and Brooke Henderson are the only players with LPGA Tour wins in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
Rolex Rankings No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn (T2, -9)
- Jutanugarn, 23, is from Bangkok, Thailand
- Jutanugarn’s 4-under 68 on Friday started with a hole-out for eagle on the first hole, using a 9-iron from 151 yards
- In 2018, Jutanugarn is tied for the Tour lead with three wins and leads the Tour with 14 overall top-10 finishes in 24 starts
- Jutanugarn won the 2018 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award – she is currently leading the standings for the Rolex Player of the Year, Race to the CME Globe and Vare Trophy
- Jutanugarn has never won an LPGA tournament in Asia – she has six wins in the U.S., two in Canada, one in England and one in Scotland
- Jutanugarn was the 2016 Rolex Player of the Year after capturing the first five titles of her LPGA career
Rolex Rankings No. 29 Danielle Kang (T2, -9)
- Kang, 25, is from San Francisco, Calif. and played collegiately at Pepperdine University
- Kang will celebrate her 26th birthday on Saturday, October 20
- Kang finished T3 last week after missing the cut in five of her previous six starts – she has now shot in the 60s in five of her last six rounds
- Kang has six top-10 finishes in 2018 including a tie for second at the HSBC Women’s World Championship
- Kang’s lone LPGA victory came at the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- Kang posted a 3-1-0 record as a rookie on the victorious 2017 U.S. Solheim Cup Team
Rolex Rankings No. 43 Brittany Altomare (T4, -7)
- Altomare, 27, is from Shrewsbury, Mass. and played collegiately at the University of Virginia
- In 2018, Altomare has one top-10 finish in 24 starts, a T3 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G
- In 2017, lost to Anna Nordqvist in a playoff at The Evian Championship to post a career-best runner-up
Rolex Rankings No. 65 Bronte Law (T4, -7)
- Law, 23, is from Stockport, England and played collegiately at UCLA
- In her second full year on the LPGA, Law has three top-10s in 21 starts including two sixth place finishes, which are both her career-low
- Law was a member of Team England at the 2018 UL International Crown, which tied with Team United States for second place behind Team Korea
Rolex Rankings No. 39 Brittany Lincicome (T4, -7)
- Lincicome, 33, is from Seminole, Fla.
- Lincicome is an eight-time LPGA winner with repeat wins at the 2017 and 2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
- In 2018, Lincicome has six top-10 finishes including her win in the Bahamas – she is one of six American players to win this season
OF NOTE
Charley Hull withdrew from the 2018 LPGA Shanghai prior to the second round due to illness
Angel Yin shot the low round of the championship with a 7-under 65 on Friday
Three of the 20 players in the field from China are under par through two rounds – Yu Liu (T7, -6), Wenbo Liu (T12, -4) and Shanshan Feng (T24, -1)
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