YANG MADE CHANGES
Yang took an extended break after the 2014 LPGA season concluded to rest both her mind and her body. She said she was tired of what she was doing, started working with her new coach Tony Ziegler and started to play more serious golf.
Yang won the 2015 Honda LPGA Thailand , her second career LPGA win, and credited her off-time as the reason she found herself in contention again. That week, she was paired in the final round with Stacy Lewis, who is currently three shots bak of Yang.
EARLY START ON FRIDAY
It was an early start on Friday at Lancaster Country Club with 55 players returning to the course to finish the first round. Jane Park wasted no time and drained a 15-foot birdie putt on her first hole of the day, the 14th hole, to take a share of the lead at 4-under par with Karrie Webb and Marina Alex. The trio would sit atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of the first round.
Jane Park said coming out and needing five more holes to finish the round wasn’t an obstacle for her.
“I think it’s better,” said Park. “You can kind of get into a routine and I feel warmed up for my second round already. So my warmup will be nice and short here in a couple minutes. Good way to start the day. Beautiful course in the morning. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Park finished her second round with a 72 and sits five shots back at 2-under par.
DIFFERENT DAY FOR ALEX
Marina Alex said her second round on Friday was a complete opposite from her opening round of 66 and said that she was pleased with the way she kept her composure and didn’t let things unravel throughout the day. She’s solo fourth and four shots off the lead.
“Oh, totally different,” said Alex. “Yesterday, tee to green I was really, really solid. Today off the tee I struggled in certain parts. I just didn’t really find a good rhythm, but I managed to just fight through that. I made a lot of good pars.”
Alex was 3-over through 13 holes after a double bogey on the par 5 13th hole. But she bounced back with birdies on Nos. 14 and 16 to finish with a 71. She said she’s excited with her position heading into the weekend and hopes to improve on her best finish at a major: T9 at the 2014 RICOH Women’s British Open.
“It’s great. I’m going to go with it, embrace it and see what the weekend, where it takes me,” said Alex.
NO SURPRISE TO SEE INBEE
Inbee Park has continued her major prowess this week in Lancaster and is in striking distance heading into the weekend. She’ll have some work to do in the final two rounds to catch second-round leader Amy Yang and trails by five shots. In her two previous U.S. Women’s Open wins, Park was in second place after 36 holes in 2008 and was leading in 2013.
“Yeah, it’s always fun,” said Park. “It’s always so much fun being in contention in a major championship and I really know how it feels like. It’s very exciting. Yeah, to have a chance at a trophy on the weekend is always so much to play for and definitely gives me a lot of motivation.”
Park is playing for her fourth title of the season and 16th of her career. She would increase her major title total to seven and claim her third U.S. Women’s Open win.
BIG GOAL IN REACH
Following an accomplished amateur career, Jane Park turned professional in August of 2006 and qualified for the LPGA Tour that winter earning exempt status for the 2007 season. But it hasn’t been a total walk in the park for the 28-year old during her pro career. Park has been hampered by injuries and is still playing for her first career victory. After 36 holes in Lancaster, she’s put herself in good position to make a run at it this weekend. She’s tied for fifth at 2-under and five shots back.
“I guess that’s my next goal, really, is to try to win out here,” said Park. “But honestly, coming into this year I was healthy, which was a big help. And when you’re not healthy, your confidence isn’t as high as it should be and you don’t quite believe in your swing as much as you can. But you know what, I’m really happy that I’m playing well and I’m very happy that I’m in this position and injury-free, which is a lot more than I can say about last year.”
Park, who is making her 11th appearance at this event, was candid after her round about how much this
championship means to her. Her best finish this season was a tie for 13th at the JTBC Founders Cup in March.
“I kind of psyched myself up for this tournament,” said Park. “Like I said, it’s my favorite event. My season so far has been mediocre. I’ve had a couple of good rounds, but I haven’t been able to put four good rounds together. But I feel like I’m slowly working towards that. So making a little bit of progress every day is what my goal is and staying injury-free.”
OF NOTE…
Haeji Kang has withdrawn from the U.S. Women’s Open, citing a back injury.
ROLEX RANKINGS NO. 1 SPOT UP FOR GRABS
Inbee Park has held the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings for four weeks since overtaking Lydia Ko for the top spot after her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship but her reign is at stake this week in Lancaster. Ko is the only player who can unseat Park for No. 1.
Lydia Ko can take over No. 1 if:
She wins AND Inbee Park finishes in a tie for 7th or worse.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“To just not try to force anything. When you’re a couple back of the lead at a normal tournament you can think let’s go and try to make some birdies. But here you just can’t try to page 1 of 2 make birdies, you’ve got to try to hit good shots and that’s what I need to keep telling myself tomorrow.”
- Stacy Lewis on what her biggest challenge will be in the third round
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