The last time Park played a competitive round she shot 84 at the Volvik Championship in MI on May 27 and withdrew after the first round, the second consecutive tournament she pulled out of early.
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Lincicome has been in contention in more major championships than anyone else within three shots of Ko.
Park took advantage of both par-5s on the front nine, reaching 2-under with a pair of birdies and was still just two shots off the pace after her 11th hole of the day before stumbling down the stretch. She shot a 1-over 72 on Thursday, the round she needed to complete the 10-year requirement for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The 27-year-old South Korean player is the youngest women to reach eligibility for the Hall of Fame, accomplishing the feat with the first round of her 10th event of the season.
Henderson won in Portland past year and has nine top-10 finishes this season.
Of course, many were curious to see if Park would treat this as a victory lap, given the state of her injured left thumb.
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.
Second-round leaders Brooke Henderson and Mirim Lee each shot 73 to drop into the group at even par. He added birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th and closed with two pars on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Wissahickon Course. She’s in the top 10 in greens in regulation, putts per GIR and scoring and is 13th in driving distance at 267.70 yards per whack.
A bogey on the 12th brought her back down and she looked to have put herself in a commanding position when she birdied the 15th, but an 18th-hole bogey took some of the gloss off an otherwise exceptional day. “I’m very, very thankful I was able to play early today”, said Christina Kim, fourth last week in New Jersey after finishing second the previous week in MI. “It’s a very important day and going to be a very memorable day for me”, Park said. Only a small number of players managed to break par.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who led after the first and second rounds, stumbled yesterday as she fell out of the lead by dropping three shots on her first five holes.
Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer bogeyed three of his last four holes for a 71.
“I think I get to appreciate it much more because everything that has happened in the last month”.
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In-Kyung Kim, formerly I.K. Kim, also carded an opening round two-under par, 69 to sit two back of Henderson. Ko had a pair of birdies to go with two bogeys in an even round of 71. “She’s definitely a great, great player”. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks), who lead after first round Thursday by one stroke, had a 74 and was 6 under.
