Who’s in The Hunt
Minjee Lee (-7) dunked her way to the lead with an eagle at the 14th, posting a two under round in difficult afternoon conditions. Lee turned in a 66 in her opening round, matching her 66 in the second round she played here last year.
Nanna Koerstz Madsen (-6) sits in second by herself. She has yet to finish in the top 10 as a professional, with a career best finish of 2ndplace as an amateur at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in 2017.
Gaby Lopez (-5) and Megan Pressel (-5) sit T3. Pressel shot the low round of the day with a bogey free 66. Lopez’s scoring stayed consistent despite the varying conditions from the morning to the afternoon, with a 69 in the afternoon on Thursday and a 68 in the morning today.
*All Times Local
Pairings to Watch
Minjee Lee (-7), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (-6)
1:50 P.M.
The 4th and 193rd Rolex Women’s World Rankings players are in the final pairing on moving day. Lee is used to being near the top of the leaderboard this year, with a T3 finish in the LOTTE Championship last year and a pair of 2ndplace finishes to polish off the opening international swing at Honda LPGA Thailand and the HSBC Women’s World Championship. If she holds the lead over the final 36 holes, it would be her fifth career victory for the 2015 LPGA Rookie.
Koerstz Madsen is in her second season on the LPGA Tour, and is in a familiar position from her Epson Tour career. She won three times on the Epson Tour in 2017, earning a “Battlefield Promotion” to the LPGA Tour with her strong play. Koerstz Madsen will look to replicate her best weekend performance this year at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, where she went 70/69 over the final two rounds.
Hannah Green (-4), Stacy Lewis (-4)
1:10 P.M.
The duo tied for the lead after the first round are paired up for moving day. Green darted out of the gates at the start of the day Friday, birdieing three of the first six holes to sit at (-9) with twelve holes left. It went downhill from there for Green, who didn’t find another birdie the rest of the round. In the four moving day rounds the 2018 LPGA rookie has played this year, she’s been incredibly consistent. She has shot three rounds of one under, and one round of one over.
Stacy Lewis was the Yin to the Yang of Green’s round. Lewis saw herself sitting at (-2) on the 14th tee box, then proceeded to birdie three of the final five holes to get to (-4). Lewis is in position for her second top 10 of 2019, with her sixth-place finish at the Diamond Resort Tournament of Champions presented by IOA.
Lizette Salas (-3), Mi Jung Hur (-2)
12:40 P.M.
It’s a homecoming for the USC product, as Lizette Salas looks to win her home event. The focus of LPGA’s second #DriveOn video had three birdies in a row on the 1st through 3rd holes to get to (-6) but wasn’t able to maintain her momentum. Salas is looking for her first top 10 since the LOTTE Championship in 2018.
Mi Jung Hur was well on her way to setting another tournament record this year, carding (-7) through her opening nine this morning. She got all the way to eight under before sputtering, carding a five under round to sit at (-2). She’s showing unique talent in California, with an incredible ability to chain birdies together. Hur had five birdies in a row to begin her round today, and seven birdies on the back nine at Aviara Golf Club.
The Cut
The cut line fell to (+3). Notables to miss the cut include Jessica Korda (+4), Sung Hyun Park (+5), Lexi Thompson (+5), defending champion Moriya Jutanugarn (+7), Nelly Korda (+8), Paula Creamer (+9), and Hall of Famer Juli Inkster (+9).
Numbers to Know
71- Number of players who made the cut.
65- The tournament record, now shot three times. Once by So Yeon Ryu, once by Hannah Green, and once by Stacy Lewis.
21- Number of players within five shots of the lead.
TV Times
Saturday and Sunday will have coverage begin on the Golf Channel at 6:00 P.M. EST, running until 9:00 P.M. EST.
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