The round of the day on Friday at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open belonged to 36-year-old Korean Eun-Hee Ji. Ji shot an 8-under 64 on day two at Dundonald Links with nine birdies and one bogey on the card, tying her second-lowest career round on the LPGA Tour. It’s the first time she’s shot 65 or better since last year’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship where Ji fired a first-round 63 and it’s her lowest round of the 2022 season, besting a 67 that came at last week’s Amundi Evian Championship. Opening her week with a rainy afternoon 69 on Thursday, Ji took advantage of the milder second-round conditions and currently sits in solo third at -11.
“My shots and putter were going really well today and it helped that the weather was good too,” said Ji, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. “Because of that, it was a bit easier to play and with the shots being so good, I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities. I got a bogey early in the round, but honestly, I could have saved par there, just missed the putt. My caddie was telling me, ‘Let’s bounce back’ and cheered me on, so I played with more confidence and got a lot of birdies after that hole and finished with a good result.”
Ji won earlier this year at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play presented by MGM Rewards, defeating LPGA Tour rookie Ayaka Furue 3 and 2 in the final match. It was her first victory since the 2019 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and with the victory, Ji became the oldest player from the Republic of Korea to win on the LPGA Tour. In addition to the win, she has one other top-10 finish this season, a tie for 10th that came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She credits a recent swing change as the reason for her 2022 success, and as she heads into the weekend in contention once again, Ji hopes her ball-striking holds up, especially with classic Scottish weather on the way.
“I’ve been fixing my swing and it’s gradually coming into a good place,” said the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica champion. “My body wasn’t initially used to those fixes, so I think there was some struggle early on, but I’m getting more and more used to it now and my shots are gradually getting better too. As long as the weather is good, I don’t think things will be pretty good, but who knows how the weather will be. But with my shots being good right now, I think I can play with confidence.”
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