Tiffany Joh followed a career low 9-under, 62 on Thursday with a very steady 4-under, 67 to hold a three-shot lead at the halfway point of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Joh, who is 13-under through 36, holds the 36-lead for the first time in her career. It's also the first time she's held the lead in back-to-back rounds.
"I had pretty low expectations for today, to be honest," explained Joh. "I honestly probably would have taken anything under par, but on the first hole right away we made like a 45-footer, and I just started laughing. It was a really good start and I guess I just kept rolling with it."
Joh, 31, also made a long putt on the 10th hole from just off the green.
"I think there are so many little subtle breaks on these greens that you're almost better off just kind of like taking a really generalized approach to green reading and not really overthinking it, which is perfect because I never overthink anything. I think maybe they just fit my eye really well."
Joh attempted just 24 putts on Thursday and 28 on Friday.
Joh, a two-time Epson Tour winner, will go for her first career LPGA win this weekend. She'd be the seventh first-time winner this season.
"It would be great (to win), I'm such a fan of links golf. It would be huge, but at the same time, I try not to get ahead of myself, and regardless what happens, my caddy and I are having a blast out there."
Joh is ranked No. 177 in the world and is 84th on the LPGA money list. A win would go a long way in moving up both lists.
Ariya Jutanugarn, who will reach No. 1 in the world rankings with a win, and Amy Yang are tied for second at 10-under. Caroline Masson is in fourth place at 9-under. Meanwhile, Sung Hyun Park, who will also grab the top spot in the world with a win, is tied for fifth at 8-under along with Su Oh, who made one of the few afternoon charges with a 66.
Caroline Masson Just Four Back of Joh
Caroline Masson pieced together a brilliant 6-under, 65 to move from 12th at the start of the day to fourth, just four back of Joh.
"I don't play that many tournaments in Europe anymore," said the German Masson. "So always super happy to come back and definitely want to put my name up there, no question."
It's exactly what she has done through two days. Masson was much more consistent on Friday. She made six birdies in both rounds, but made three bogeys in round one.
"Yesterday I didn't drive it great, but I guess missed it in the right spots, and the irons have been really good," said Masson, who ranks 25th on the money list this season. "Irons are really good, putting is pretty solid, and the driver was a little better today, so I put myself in a better spot and obviously didn't make any bogeys, so that's always a plus."
Masson is on pace to have one the best seasons of her career. She already has five top 10 finishes.
Amy Yang Post Second Straight 66 As She Overcomes Tennis Elbow
Amy Yang, a three-time LPGA winner, turned in her second straight 66 on Friday. Yang made six birdies against just one bogey.
Yang is starting to build momentum after dealing with tennis elbow early in the season.
"I injured my arm early this year and had to take some time off and I just couldn't practice much and I didn't have good momentum," said Yang, who finished T3 at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in her last start. "It's getting better and I feel like I'm getting more good momentum going on and also I'm hitting it good."
Yang said the injury was so debilitating at first that she couldn't lift anything with her right arm. It's improved greatly over the last two months, but she still ices and puts soothing gel on the elbow every night.
Yang last won at the 2017 Honda LPGA Thailand.
Ryu Posts 66 with Help from Instructor Cameron McCormick
So Yeon Ryu's instructor, Cameron McCormick, was on site early in the week at Gullane Golf Club after finishing up at Carnoustie last week with some of his PGA Tour clients. The work he did with Ryu early in the week is paying off. She backed up a Thursday 69 with a Friday 66.
"It's definitely (helpful to) have him on the golf course, especially like this type of golf course, learning a lot of imagination. I only could think of the flop shot kind of stuff and he gave me the direction. You could use this bounce or you could putt (he told me). It was really helpful to have him those two days to prepare for this tournament."
After the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Ryu took some time off and needed the extra fine-tuning with McCormick.
Ryu will move to No. 1 in the world with a win this week.
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