Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela vaulted up the leaderboard on Friday at the Honda LPGA Thailand after carding the second-lowest round of the week at Siam Country Club’s Old Course. The 26-year-old kicked off her second start in Chonburi, Thailand with a 2-under 70 on Thursday and then backed that up with a 7-under 65 on day two, a round in which she made one bogey, six birdies and an eagle.
Valenzuela began her day on the par-5 10th hole with a bogey that dropped her back to 1-under, but she made up for that mistake with a birdie on the par-4 13th hole, then moving to 3-under after grabbing a birdie on 15. The Stanford University alum made one last birdie on the par-5 18th hole to turn in 34, sitting at 4-under overall with nine holes to go.
Valenzuela cranked up the heat on her final nine, hitting her second shot on the par-5 1st hole to tap-in range and making an eagle that moved her to 6-under for the tournament. She struck again with a birdie on the par-4 3rd hole before picking up her final two birdies of the day on holes six and seven, ultimately posting a 31 on her back nine en route to a second-round 65 that has her sitting in a tie for fourth at 9-under, one shot back of the 36-hole leaders.
The 65 is Valenzuela’s second-lowest career round on the LPGA Tour and is her first round of 65 or better since she carded a 64 in the third round of the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship. It’s her career-low round in her two previous appearances in the Honda LPGA Thailand and is only her second round in the 60s at Siam Country Club’s Old Course.
Overall, Valenzuela was incredibly pleased with her performance on Friday in Thailand, particularly after the challenging start, and was excited to finally see some putts drop, something that hasn’t been happening a lot for the Swiss in recent months.
“Definitely off to a bad start. Just course management and missed a really short putt. So was a little bit (upset),” said Valenzuela of her opening bogey. “I know my long game has been really good for a long time. It was just a matter of rolling a few more putts in. (Putting has) definitely been a little bit of my nemesis over the last few months.
“In Bradenton, I hit the ball incredibly well, and I think I had 10 three-putts, which was just ridiculous. My speed was totally off. Now I feel like my speed is getting there. I feel really good over my putts. Feel like my stroke is good. It's just a matter of being patient.”
This week marks Valenzuela’s second start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and through two rounds at the Honda LPGA Thailand, she’s on track to improve upon her T42 result in her season debut at the LPGA Drive On Championship. Last year saw Valenzuela make some strides early – she recorded her career-best finish in a major with a T4 showing at The Chevron Championship – and then struggle late as she failed to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship after finishing 63rd in the Race to the CME Globe.
While it was a difficult way to end her fourth season on the LPGA Tour, Valenzuela took a lot from the disappointment and is applying the lessons she learned late last year to a fresh, new season, working hard on “enjoying the game a lot more,” something that can become difficult as a career further progresses.
“Definitely a lot of frustration piled up towards the end of last year. Very frustrating ending,” Valenzuela said. “I just missed CME, and it's tough at this level – this is year number five – when you feel like you're not performing where you're supposed to. I didn't accomplish all my goals. I think it's just accepting that – it's a bad way to phrase it – but (stuff) hits the fan. You just got to be patient and accept that golf is hard and enjoy it as much as possible.”
So far, that mindset seems to be working for Valenzuela, and with 36 holes to play at the Honda LPGA Thailand, she’ll ultimately get to see just how juicy the fruits of that labor will be come Sunday as she tries to win for the first time on the LPGA Tour.
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