Lang made a strong move up the leaderboard, with her 68 the best score of the day.
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Lee is the first woman to shoot that much below par at the U.S. Open since Lorie Kane and Becky Iverson did it in the second round in 1999 at Old Waverly in Mississippi.
“I go partying”, Ko deadpanned. At her 2012 championship debut at Blackwolf Run, Ko’s hands were shaking so badly in that first round that she couldn’t use the line on her ball to line up her putts.
Park then drove into a hazard on the par-5 18th for a one-shot penalty before saving par with a 15-foot putt to end her round in a tie with first-round leader Mirim Lee, who teed off in the afternoon. CordeValle hosted a PGA Tour event from 2010-13.
South Korea’s world number six Chun In-gee, who won last year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club by one shot, launched her title defence with a one-over 73.
While all parts of her game have been off at different times during the first 54 holes, it might be her inability to hit greens that’s cost her. Henderson is tied for 54th in that category reaching just 32 out of 54 greens, that for a player who is ranked ninth for the year in the same category on the LPGA Tour.
Japan’s Haru Nomura fired a 3-under-69 to surge into a tie with Ko in fourth for a 139 two-day total. I know it was breezy from the mornings. “So I’m looking forward to it”. Two ladies were sporting “Go Ko” T-shirts. Born in Korea, established in New Zealand, Ko has been the biggest star of her genre over the past three years.
Cristie Kerr and Minjee Lee, who both shot 5-under in round one, were among the other leaders playing in the afternoon.
After finishing off with back-to-back birdies, Kerr revealed that she enjoyed playing in the benign conditions in the morning. “… I think nerves are good because it means you’re excited”. It was a lucky one. “I think that’s the key around here”.
Ko is probably the most even keeled golfer I’ve seen.
“There’s a lot of golf to be played, so I don’t really want to get ahead of myself”.
“You just have to have a lot of discipline”. Jimmy Walker won the last time there…. If she can crack the top 45, it will mark her best performance in the American championship. The possibility is still there over the final 18 holes, she maintained.
“She’s the master of it; it’s unreal”. She also bogeyed her final hole of the day and is two strokes back of the lead.
Ji said it helps that her caddie talks to her a lot throughout her round. “All I can do is try my best”. Brooke played so impressively on that Sunday. “She looks really calm, but I guarantee she feels the same things we do”.
“They could have made it more hard”.
Although not yet 20, Ko has a stunning reservoir of grace under pressure going back to childhood.
Ko’s comedic timing was as flawless as the timing of her golf swing.
If poise and confidence were groceries, her pantry would be full.
Whatever Ko is doing is working.
“The closest was actually this last offseason”, Ko began. The “Gangnam Style” performer’s show didn’t start until midnight.
Not that it started all that well for Ko.
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“Because the course is so challenging out there, I can’t be aggressive every hole”, Yang explained.
