MINJEE LEE JUMPS TO THE TOP AT HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA OPEN

Buoyed by a hole-out for eagle at No. 14, Australia’s Minjee Lee returned a second-round 69 and leads the field at -7 heading to the weekend at the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open. The fifth-year player out of Australia rolled in a wedge from 114 yards to vault into the solo lead.

“Out of all the ones that I have been close to making, I think that's the only one that I actually saw like drop into the hole,” said Lee, who has runner-up finishes this year in Thailand and Singapore. “It was pretty cool to see it happen for the first time.”

Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen sits in second at -6, with American Morgan Pressel and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez tied for third at -5. Koerstz Madsen, who is in her second season on the LPGA Tour, went low through 36 holes of the 2019 Bank of Hope Founders Cup, where she was third after 36 holes and ultimately finished 26th. Lopez is looking for her second career victory, while Pressel has not visited the winner’s circle since 2008.

PATIENCE IS KEY FOR KOERSTZ MADSEN

Nanna Koerstz Madsen took the Epson Tour by storm in 2017, winning three events on the LPGA’s Official Development Tour and earning her LPGA Tour card through the Volvik Race for the Card. Coming into her rookie campaign with high expectations, the fiery Dane struggled to just nine made cuts in a season that sent her to LPGA Q Series to improve her status.

“Last year I was kind of afraid to hit every shot I was playing,” said Koerstz Madsen, who also has a win on the Ladies European Tour. “Now I'm just trying to relax a little bit more and just say if I shoot plus-7 that's okay, and if I shoot minus-7, that's good too.”

That hard work is finally paying off this week in Los Angeles. The 24-year-old, who looks to be the first LPGA Tour winner from Denmark, returned a second-round 67 and sits one stroke off the lead heading into the weekend.

PRESSEL SEARCHING FOR BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT

A searcher. That’s how Morgan Pressel described herself after a second-round 66 at Wilshire Country Club. It’s been 10 years since the fan favorite visited the winner’s circle, and she’s been hunting for those elusive glimpses of on-course success.

“I've just been working hard on my swing and it's been close,” said Pressel, who went bogey-free on Friday and is tied for third after 36 holes. “Played well at Kia for couple days. It's been hit and miss, so it's nice to put it all together today.”

Pressel picked up wins in at the 2007 ANA Inspiration and 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic, her second and third years on Tour, but in recent seasons has not been able to match that early success. She has just three top-10s since 2016, with her most recent one coming at Wilshire in 2018, when she tied for seventh.

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 4 Minjee Lee (66-69—135)

She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 30 putts
Lee is in her fifth season on the LPGA Tour; she has four career victories, most recently at the 2018 LPGA Volvik Championship
This is Lee’s ninth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is second at the Honda LPGA Thailand and HSBC Women’s World Championship
She is competing in her second HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open; she tied for seventh in 2018

She represented Australia at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, finishing T7
Rolex Rankings No. 193 Nanna Koerstz Madsen (69-67—136)

Koerstz Madsen's 136 is the second-best 36-hole score of her career; she shot 134 at the 2019 Bank of Hope Founders Cup, where she finished 26th
She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 26 putts
Koerstz Madsen is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is second at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open as a non-Member
This is Koerstz Madsen's seventh event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is 26th at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup
She is competing in her second HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open; she missed the cut in 2018
Koerstz Madsen won three times as a Epson Tour rookie in 2017 and reached the LPGA Tour via the Volvik Race for the Card
She represented Denmark at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, finishing T13

No player from Denmark has won on the LPGA Tour
Rolex Rankings No. 182 Morgan Pressel (71-66—137)

Pressel's second-round 66 is her best 18-hole score of 2019, her previous best was 68, which she shot in the first round of the Kia Classic
Her 137 is her best 36-hole score of 2019; her previous best was 141, which she shot at the Kia Classic
She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
Pressel is in her 14th season on the LPGA Tour; she has two victories, coming at the 2007 ANA Inspiration and the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic
This is Pressel's sixth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; her best finish is T44 at the ANA Inspiration

She finished T7 at the 2018 HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open, which is the last time she earned a top-10 finish; it was her first top-10 finish since she tied for second at the 2016 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Rolex Rankings No. 54 Gaby Lopez (69-68—137)

Lopez's 137 is tied for her best 36-hole score of 2019; she previously shot 137 at the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, where she finished T10
She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 28 putts
Lopez is in her fourth season on the LPGA Tour; she won the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA to become the second player from Mexico to win on the LPGA Tour, joining 27-time winner Lorena Ochoa
This is Lopez's ninth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; she has three top-10 finishes, with a best showing of T5 at last week's LOTTE Championship
She is competing in her second HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open; she missed the cut in 2018
Lopez is a 2016 graduate of the University of Arkansas, with a degree in communications

She represented Mexico at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, finishing 31st

Lee Sits atop the Leaderboard, Patience key for Koertsz Madsen

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