SISTER, SISTER
Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn got a surprise Thursday evening when they opened the pairings for the second round. There, in Group 11, were both their names - the first time that has ever happened as professionals.
“Yeah, just feels like a practice round, but I was like so excited that I see the pairings last night,” Moriya said. “I was like, ‘Oh, God, I’m going to play with her.’ But we had a lot of fun.”
When both entered the scorer’s tent Friday, it was easy to wonder if it was twins day on the LPGA because the two sisters were both wearing the same thing - white shorts, blue polo with a white under shirt underneath. Normally, the sponsors would make the clothing not look at all the same despite similar colors, but that’s not the case with the Jutanugarns. They have the same sponsors as each other too.
“You know what’s funny is like on Tuesday, we left like maybe 30 minutes apart, and we got there, same shirt,” Moriya said. “And Wednesday, we got the same shirt again. Is that funny -- and then we got the same shirt again today.”
There are different opinions between the two sisters on who copied who, but there’s no debate on who won Friday’s second round among the sisters. That was Moriya, who shot a 4-under-par 68 and is currently six strokes up on her sister.
“We are always trying to beat each other all the time,” Moriya said. “Yeah, like she make birdie, birdie, like first two holes, and I was like, ‘wow, that’s pretty hot.’ And then I just make birdie, par, birdie. I was like, all right, let’s see how it goes.”
EASING IT BACK
Lexi Thompson will be the first to admit that sometimes she was too hard on herself in the previous year. She began seeing a different mental coach at the start of this year and has worked on enjoying the experience more and not letting a poor shot get to her. It certainly worked Friday with a 5-under-par 67 that has her just one shot back of Lydia Ko.
“It took me awhile to kick into my game and get used to being positive out on the golf course. It’s a huge part of it,” Thompson said. “Golf is like so mental, and I needed to realize that. He’s helped me out a lot and I think that has helped me out on the golf course in just trusting myself.”
Thompson admits it’s an ongoing process and the bad habits creep in sometimes. Her frustration is built in her competitiveness but she has to remind herself not to let it get the best of her and cause a mistake to snowball.
“I hit some bad shots yesterday and I caught myself getting negative, but it’s going to happen,” Thompson said. “You just have to keep on focusing on the positive shots and the good shots that you hit, and keep on replaying those in your head.”
One hole stood out in particular Friday, she said. She hit a bad drive on No. 10 and made bogey. But it didn’t compound itself. Instead, she told herself not to get mad, reeled off a few pars, and then poured in birdies on three of the last four to get within one shot of Ko heading into the weekend.
HOME COURSE ADVANTAGE
It’s safe to say Mi Hyang Lee knows this golf course - Sky 72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course - a little better than the rest of the field. Sky 72 has been Lee’s home course since it opened when she was 13 and she still has a home 10 minutes down the road where she spends the offseason.
But that hasn’t always translated into solid results at this course. In two previous starts here, she’s finished 76th and 66th.
“Just I know the golf course well, but it didn’t work. Just it didn’t work,” Lee said. “And then I did feel a lot of pressure for sure.”
That’s changing this week though. Lee fired a 5-under-par 67 Friday and is currently in a tie for 7th at 6-under-par. Lee says one change she made this week is she’s not staying at home. She wants it to feel like a normal tournament so instead of staying at home and driving the 10 minutes to the course, she’s at the hotel with the rest of the players.
“When I stay at my home, I feel like it’s not a tournament,” Lee said.
FREE LESSONS FROM A PRO
The LPGA’s Teaching & Club Professionals program first brought it’s act overseas in 2012 and in the four years since, every year LPGA certified Korean based teaching pros hit the driving range from Friday - Sunday to offer 10 minute free lessons to amateurs. Each year, the T&CP professional numbers in Korea grow and so does the line for assistance.
The LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program will also be on-site Sunday offering a free clinic to juniors age 7-17 from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
3 - This weekend marks only the third time Ko has held the 36-hole lead. She closed both the previous two out with a win.
3.5 - With a win here, Ko would break Nancy Lopez’s previous record at 22 years by more than 3.5 years as the youngest to ever reach 10 wins.
7 - Lydia Ko trailed by seven shots entering Friday’s final round and now leads by one entering the weekend.
10 - Lydia Ko is looking for her 10th LPGA win and would surpass Nancy Lopez by more than 3.5 years as the youngest ever to 10 wins.
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