Hours later, she was about to tee off for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club – a tournament for which she was the three-time defending champion.
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Ko was typically composed as she battled her way around the tough Sahalee Country Club layout, carding three birdies and two bogeys in a steady round. “I’ll be super nervous again”.
“I’m happy with my position”, Ko said. “This is a very, very special feeling”.
A day after wrapping up an LPGA Hall of Fame spot, the South Korean star shot an 8-over 79 on Friday to drop to 9 over. Park becomes the youngest ever to be eligible at the age of twenty seven. She completed the final eligibility requirement by playing the first round of her 10th event of her 10th season. “We’ve still got a long 18 holes to go”.
At the back of the 18th green, a handful of players, including fellow Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak, gave her hugs as 30 family members and friends surrounded her.
“I hit it straight and it came off the tree on the opposite side. And it obviously wasn’t easy to get there”, Park said. (72), Bart Bryant (72) and second-round leader Brandt Jobe (74) were tied for third at 2 over. Yang went out in 32 and was 6 under for her round after a birdie at No. 15, before dropping a shot on the 16th. Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) also had an even-par 70 and is 1 over. Park lipped-out a par putt on the ninth hole, her last of the day, that could be the difference in whether she makes the cut.
Henderson did her part in trying to steal the attention from Park.
“I pulled my shot a little bit, caught the left apron and following right into the hole”.
“It was a pretty good day today”, Henderson said.
Among those two strokes back at even par are 20-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn, who’s bidding for her fourth consecutive win. Yeah, the hole-in-one was awesome. “I’m more comfortable seeing my name up there”. “This one is a major and previous year I missed the cut in this one, so I really wanted to make the cut”.
Yang, who owns four top-10’s and hasn’t finished worse than a tie for 40th in 10 starts in 2016, is seeking her first LPGA Tour title since the 2015 Honda LPGA Thailand.
American Christina Kim and South Korea’s Kim In-Kyung also played in the morning wave and were the only other players to post rounds in the 60s, with both shooting two-under 69.
Phil Mickelson looking to save par on the 18th hole of the St. Jude Classic, and “Lefty” is knotted for second at seven-under, after Round Three.
“This place has absolutely drained me”.
“So I feel like I’m playing well”.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko had an even-par 71 in a round that featured 14 pars, two birdies and two bogeys.
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Ko missed a chance to create some separation late in her round.
