Brittany Lincicome of the US fired a three-under 69 to vault into the lead after the second round of the LPGA Sybase Classic on Friday.
Lincicome moved to an 11-under 133 total for a two-stroke lead over Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and Oh Ji-young of South Korea. Pettersen shot a two-under 70, while Oh fired a 69 at the Upper Montclair Country Club course.
“I really had no expectations today, just to keep it under par,” said Lincicome, whose 11-under is the lowest 36-hole score this year on the LPGA Tour. “I was hitting it good yesterday, when I went to the range this morning I felt like I was hitting it really well. I hit 17 greens today, which is pretty phenomenal.”
PHOTO: AP
First-round leader Helen Alfredsson of Sweden stumbled to four-over 76 and is tied for fourth at six-under with Wendy Doolan (68). Alfredsson shot a career-best 62 on Thursday, but her second round included a rare missed tap-in on the fourth hole.
Australia’s Karrie Webb and Americans Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer were in a group at five-under.
Three-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot her second consecutive 71.
Taiwan’s Candie Kung followed up her first-round 71 with a three-under 69 to stand joint 11th on four-under 140. Compatriots Amy Hung and Yani Tseng are in a group with Ochoa at two-under 142. Teresa Lu withdrew after the first round.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
■TEXAS OPEN
REUTERS, HOUSTON, TEXAS
American journeyman Paul Goydos overcame an opening bogey with six birdies to card a five-under 65 on Friday and take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Texas Open in San Antonio.
Goydos, whose opening 63 tied him with three-times winner Justin Leonard for the first-round lead, stood at 12-under 128 at La Cantera Golf Club’s Resort Course.
Tied for second place on 131 were Leonard, after a 68, fellow Americans Ted Purdy (67), John Mallinger (64) and Scott Sterling (63), as well as Sweden’s Mathias Gronberg (65).
Four strokes off the pace at 132 were Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden, Briton Brian Davis and American Kent Jones.
■IRISH OPEN
AFP, DROGHEDA, IRELAND
Ireland’s Shane Lowry became only the second amateur to lead a European Tour event at the halfway stage as he stormed to the top of the leaderboard on home turf at the Irish Open on Friday.
“It’s like a dream really — when do I wake up?” Lowry said after taking a two-stroke lead over England’s Robert Rock and Welshman Jamie Donaldson.
It would also have broken the course record, but for the fact that just over an hour earlier Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell blitzed an incredible 61.
■MAEKYUNG OPEN
AFP, SEOUL
South Korea’s Bae Sang-moon battled to an even-par 70 under rainy conditions to take the third round at the Maekyung Open yesterday.
Bae’s three-day total of five-under 211 placed him tied for the lead with compatriots Kim Dae-hyun and Ted Oh at the Nam Seoul Country Club.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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