Lorena Ochoa fired a six-under 65 on Friday to stretch her lead to three shots at the halfway stage of the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open.
World No. 1 Ochoa had a two-round total of 13-under 129, making the most of ideal conditions to increase her lead despite some strong showings by rivals that included course record-equaling 63s by South Korea’s Kim Song-hee and American Cristie Kerr.
Kim and Kerr were tied for second on 132 alongside South Korea’s Kim In-kyung, who posted an impressive 64. Australian Lindsey Wright, second going into the round, fired a 69 for 134.
PHOTO: AP
Ochoa teed off on No. 10 just as Kim and Kim were finishing their rounds.
After three straight pars, she shot back into the lead with six birdies in her next eight holes — three in a row from the 13th and three in a row from 18.
She had a total of eight birdies with two bogeys, including a mis-step at her finishing hole in the second round, the par-four ninth.
“I think it was a great day and I was a little disappointed with the finish,” Ochoa said. “I missed my second shot really bad to the right side and unfortunately I ended with a bogey.”
Ever the optimist, Ochoa looked on the bright side.
“There were a lot of birdies, a lot of good putts,” Ochoa said. “I was much better with my driver today. So hopefully, I will continue that with the same direction and keep playing aggressively for the weekend.”
Ochoa said that she just tried to stay patient through her first three holes, knowing that birdies were possible.
“Right away I started making birdies and felt very comfortable, and I think that’s important to get those first couple birdies, to get me going,” she said. “And I was able to have a good round.”
She certainly wasn’t the only one as Kim Song-hee and Kerr both nabbed eight birdies in their eight-under rounds.
“Well, the first thing, the weather was perfect and my iron shot and driver and putting, everything was coming perfect today,” said Kim Song-hee, who is seeking her first LPGA tour victory.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was six shots off the lead, tied for sixth place on seven-under 135 after shooting a 64. Compatriot Teresa Lu was tied for 40th on one-under. Amy Hung and Candie Kung missed the cut on five-over.
■PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
AFP, PONTE VEDRA, FLORIDA
Tiger Woods “plodded along” to slip seven strokes behind leader Alex Cejka after the second round of the Players Championship on Friday.
Woods, who did not sink a putt longer than four feet during the first round, had a little more luck on the greens, making a hat-trick of birdies mid-round on his way to a three-under 69 at the Sawgrass TPC.
“Overall, I got myself back in the ballgame,” Woods said. “I hit some good putts today, just like I did yesterday, but they went in today. The way the pins are tomorrow, you can probably shoot a good one if you play well, but you’ve got to play well, because you’ve got to take advantage of the slopes. If you don’t, then you’re going to be in some tough spots.”
Woods was equal 22nd with a four-under 140 halfway total.
He nearly finished his day in style at the par-four 18th, where he leaked his drive into the right rough.
However, he was able to thread a seven-iron between a gap in the trees and his ball landed well short of the green and rolled up to within 10 feet of the hole.
However, he read too much break into the putt and missed it on the high side, settling for a tap-in par.
■ITALIAN OPEN
AFP, TURIN, ITALY
Argentine Daniel Vancsik carved out a one-stroke lead at the Italian Open in Turin after Friday’s second round, which saw Colin Montgomerie miss the cut.
Montgomerie bogeyed the final two holes and slid out to suffer the same fate as he had last week at the Spanish Open.
“I should not be missing cuts in these tournaments,” the Ryder Cup skipper said.
Vancsik is riding high in stark contrast after he added a 65 to his opening 68 for a nine-under aggregate at the halfway mark.
Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin, who had been three shots clear after he hit a course-record 64 on the opening day, fell back to second after he could only follow up with a 70.
England’s Anthony Wall — just one win to his name to date — was sharing third place overnight on seven-under with Iceland’s Birgir Hafthorsson and Finn Roope Kakko.
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