Yealimi Noh had at least one goal set for this week – make the cut. In her two previous appearances at the Marathon LPGA Classic, Noh hadn’t recorded an under-par round. Coming off a T26 performance at the Volunteers of America Classic, the 19-year-old is one step closer to seeing the weekend after firing a bogey-free 65 to sit in a tie for third heading into Friday. She recorded a single birdie on her front-nine on No. 6, but converted four more in her final eight holes to finish at -5.
“I really wanted to play well this year. Glad that I got off to a pretty good start. Yeah, that front nine I was just -- I told myself to be patient, because I actually was like missing a couple greens from like -- I missed a lot of greens today from a lot of easy spots and it was frustrating. I stayed patient and got a lot up and downs. When I got on the green I was able to make the putt, so I was just telling myself, Just hit the green,” said Noh, who ultimately hit 13 of 14 greens in regulation.
A lot has changed for Noh in the past year. After successfully navigating the COVID-19 era of Tour events as an 2020/2021 LPGA Tour rookie, she’s set her sights on another goal off the course – obtaining her driver’s license. She finally passed her permit test in California before the U.S. Women’s Open, and is working on her driving while on the road on Tour this summer.
“I think I missed two questions (on the written test), so pretty proud of myself because I don't remember -- yeah, anyway, I got it finally,” said Noh, who originally was planning on getting her license before the pandemic. “I was like super nervous actually. Like I was really parade. I studied a bunch before like you should, but I was really nervous. But I got through it and literally my heart was beating so fast. Like each question I knew I knew the right answer, but I'm just glad I got it.”
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