Once she did count them up, the score came out to a 9-under-par 62, tying the tournament course record and moving the 37-year-old citizen of France into a 1-stroke lead after two rounds of the $1.5 million event over the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Resort.
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South Korea’s Choi Na-yeon (64) and Japan’s Haru Nomura (66) are one shot behind, with defending champion Anna Nordqvist lurking two back after a 68.
The 46-year-old managed just one more birdie, on the 18th, but goes into the second round well-placed at six under in a tie for fourth place.
“I made a lot of second shots close to the hole, so made some birdie easier to do”, Icher said.
Projected to jump from 19th to 16th in the world ranking, Nordqvist is the first European victor on the tour since Suzann Pettersen won the Manulife LPGA Classic last June.
“I just try to play easy and not look at the scoreboard, because it doesn’t serve me”, she said. “I just kept my head high and started giving myself better chances”.
Matthew eagled the par-five third and entered the back nine at five under after birdies on holes five, six and nine in New Jersey.
Nomura, who has won twice this season, said her experience winning in San Francisco in April might stand her in good stead if predicted stormy weather hits the course.
“My caddie just told me to stay patient and so did the rest of my team, because they knew how well I was playing, getting really zero out of it”. It was really tough wind this afternoon. Made those holes a little tougher.
“So I tried to play shot after shot, and if I miss a green or if I miss a drive, fine, I can always like do a recovery, and that’s what I did”.
Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe had a birdie-eagle finish for a 65 to reach 8 under.
Choi went 7-under par, and Nomura went 5-under par, to now sit in second. “It’s a pretty nice way to finish”.
John Daly, the senior newcomer who helped draw a record opening-round crowd on Friday, shot his second straight 74 to drop to 4 over. Down to sixth in the world, the 31-year-old Lewis is winless in 49 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th LPGA Tour victory.
She teed off on 10 and after four birdies in her first nine holes she birdied five coming in. She finished second last week in MI, five strokes behind victor Ariya Jutanugarn.
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Top-ranked Lydia Ko and streaking Ariya Jutanugarn skipped the tournament to get ready for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major championship of the year, next week at Sahalee near Seattle.
