Marina Alex carded a career-best 64 (-8) to position herself alone at the top of the leaderboard at 10-under par through the second round at the Manulife LPGA Classic.
Thailand’s P.K. Kongkraphan and South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim are one-shot back of the lead at 9-under par. Alone in fourth is another South Korean in Mi Hyang Lee (-8) and four players are tied for fifth at 7-under par.
Even with two bogeys, the American Alex was able to best her previous career low by two shots thanks to eight birdies and an eagle on the ninth, her final hole of the day.
“Super happy,” Alex said in reference to her play. “Just kind of everything fell together, ball striking, putting. I actually left a couple of putts out there, but I mean I’m not going to complain about the score that I shot.”
Alex holds the lead heading into the weekend for the first time in her LPGA career. She has three career top-10 finishes including one in 2016, a career best T6 at the LPGA Volvik Championship.
“I’ve been close,” Alex said of playing in the final group on Saturday. “At that point whether you’re the last group,
second-to-last, third-to-last, it’s all kind of the same. I have a little bit of experience there, so it’ll be good.”
WEEKEND PLANS
The cutline fell at 1-under par 143 with a total of 74 players making the cut. Notables to miss the cut: Karrie Webb (E), Sei Young Kim (E), Michelle Wie (E), Morgan Pressel (+2) and Su Oh (+11).
Four of the 13 Canadian players in the field will play over the weekend – Alena Sharp (-5), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (-4), Anne Catherine Tanguay (-3) and Brooke Henderson (-3).
CHANGES BRING SUCCESS FOR P.K.
Thailand’s P.K. Kongkraphan has made some changes that have turned her 2016 season around. She credits a new coach and new set of clubs for giving her confidence in recent starts. Kongkraphan has made the cut in just 8-of-19 starts this year, but played on the weekend in four of her last five events, earning her lone top-10 of the season in that span (T9, Meijer LPGA Classic).
The 206th ranked player in the world also has the help of a local caddy this week at Whistle Bear.
“I feel very comfortable and very confident this week,” said Kongkraphan. “My coach is here. I just changed coach last couple months, and also implement as well to PXG, and then I tried to get -- before I have a problem with my iron pretty bad. And I tried to get better. So I switched the clubs and changed the coach, and I tried to play better. From last week I have so much more confidence, and also this week I had a caddie. He’s a local, and he worked pretty good.”
WOMAN’S BEST FRIEND(S)
One of the perks of playing close to home is that it gives a player’s family and friends to come out and watch them in action – something that isn’t always easy with the LPGA Tour’s global travel schedule. For Hamilton, Ontario native Alena Sharp this week, it also means that she can spend some quality time with Chandler and Porter, her two Goldendoodles.
The low Canadian through two rounds at -5, Sharp says her dogs have come with her to four events so far this year but usually get the chance to go to more.
“I feel it’s pretty much my backyard. Hamilton is not too far away. I feel really comfortable here in the Waterloo area. I’ve done well as a junior. It’s nice to be at home. I have my dogs here this week. It’s always nice to come home and see them. They’re always smiling no matter how I do, so it’s always nice to have that little comfort.”
NUMBERS TO KNOW
2 - Two Americans have won on Tour in 2016 (Lexi Thompson - Honda LPGA Thailand; Brittany Lang - U.S. Women’s Open)
5 - Five events in 2016 have featured Rolex First-Time Winners
8 - Eight players are within three shots of the current lead (32 players within three shots after Rd 1)
13 - Thirteen eagles have been made on the par-5 9th thru two days, the same number of bogeys made on the hole
1 - Mi Hyang Lee recorded the lone ace of the tournament on the par-3 5th from 124 yards with a pitching wedge
QUOTABLE
“Maybe -- well, because it’s kind of our last tournament of the year in North America, I guess, and I have friends and family that are coming tonight to watch me this weekend, so I was like, don’t screw up.”
- Maude-Aimee Leblanc on putting extra pressure on herself this week
“First, sleep. Then a little bit putting, putting past the hole, putting practice. Tomorrow moving day.”
- Chella Choi on her game plan following the second round
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