ALL ABOUT THE CUT
Seventy-three players made the 36-hole cut of 1-over-par 147. The cut line tied the 1987 and 1999 Championships for the second-lowest cut in relation to par.
Notables who missed the cut: World No. 1 Lydia Ko (+2). Prior to today, Ko had not missed a cut in all 53 starts she had made on the LPGA Tour dating back to the 2012 Handa Women’s Australian Open.
"The front nine was OK,” said Ko. "I just made a double and just couldn't get anything turned around. They are one of the tougher holes you play. I just kind of made bogey after bogey and when you do that, it's not great. But yeah, I tried to finish strong. I made two good putts the last two holes. It was already kind of too late.”
Also missing the cut: Yani Tseng (+4), a two-time winner of this Championship, and Jessica Korda (+2).
PETTERSEN’S FLAWLESS FINISH
Suzann Pettersen turned in the lowest-round Friday, a 7-under-par 66, which was the product of a seven-birdie, bogey-free performance. That allowed her to jump 73 places to a share of fourth at 7-under-par 140. A winner of this Championship in 2007, Pettersen is seeking her third major crown. She also won the 2013 Evian Championship, the first year of that event as a major. Pettersen is coming off a victory at last week’s Manulife LPGA Classic. If Pettersen can win Sunday, it would mark the ninth time in KPMG Women’s PGA Championship history that a player has won this major championship after having won the previous week on Tour.
VETERAN CADDIE KNOWS THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Caddie Paul Fusco, 47, of Ponte Vedra, Florida, is the perfect fit for Korea’s Sei Young Kim, the 36-hole leader of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Fusco has caddied 12 times in professional events at Westchester Country Club. Among the players Fusco has served include Vijay Singh, who won twice here on the West Course in 1993 through 1995 (the former Buick Classic). Fusco, who has caddied for five Korean players (men and women) in his 23-year caddying career, began working for Kim at last December. They met at the LPGA Tour Qualifying School in Daytona Beach, Florida. “I got the call from her manager, drove to meet Sei Young and her parents, and felt that it was a good fit right away,” said Fusco. “I was very impressed. She has such a great attitude. If something bad happens, she is ready for the next shot.”
MINNESOTA’S GRIMES LOW AMONG 8 PGA/LPGA PROFESSIONALS
Lisa Grimes of Alexandria, Minnesota, the LPGA Director of Instruction at Alexandria Golf Club, has competed in 16 major championships. She turned in a 1-over-par 74 to finish 36 holes at 7-over-par 153, which was the lowest 36-hole total among eight qualifiers from last summer’s LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals National Championship. “I like the pathway to arrive here,” said Grimes, 54, an Arizona State alumnus who has two children and five grandchildren. “I like competing. Preparing for this event, it’s hard for us. We teach for a living. So, quality practice time is more quality that quantity.” LPGA Teaching Professional Jean Bartholomew of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was next among the LPGA/PGA Club Professional delegation at 9-over-par 155.)
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