ICHER SHOOTS CAREER LOW AND TIES TOURNAMENT RECORD TO GRAB SECOND-ROUND LEAD
France’s Karine Icher tied the tournament record and shot a career-low 9-under 62 in the second round at the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.
She stands at 12-under par for the tournament and one shot clear of South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi and Japan’s Haru Nomura. Defending champion Anna Nordqvist is at 10-under par and two shots back in solo fourth.
Icher joined a group of three other players who hold the single round scoring record at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer: Laura Davies (2005), Jimin Kang (2005) and Jennifer Johnson (2014).
The No. 58 player in Rolex Rankings said she didn’t realize she had tied the record until she stood on the green on her final hole.
“I don’t realize,” Icher said. “I just like try to play easy and not look at the scoreboard, because it doesn’t serve me. I know that. So try to play shot after shot, and then it’s become like a game to make as much as birdie as possible.”
After beginning her round with four pars, Icher birdied four of her final five to shoot 30 on the backside in her first nine holes. Four of her five birdies on the second nine came consecutively (holes 3-6) as she estimated that her longest made birdie putt on the day was only around 10 feet.
“My second shot was pretty good,” said Icher. “Like I said, I made a lot of second shots close to the hole, so made some birdie easier to do. The greens are difficult to read, and to get the right speed with the right slope; so the closer you are, the easiest it is.”
The 14-year Tour member is playing for her first LPGA win and has only recorded one top-10 finish this season, a T10 at the Volunteers of American Texas Shootout.
Thanks to a second-round 68, Nordqvist is in the hunt to complete the first successful title defense of her career.
She has not won since her victory here last year where she trailed Morgan Pressel by one shot heading into the final round. Nordqvist shot 4-under 69 on Sunday for her fifth career win last year.
“I feel like I hit a lot of good shots and a lot of good putts today,” said Nordqvist. “Greens were pretty bumpy and some of my putts even airborne. You’ve just got to stay patient and tomorrow we are just going to have more similar conditions. So I’m excited to go for it tomorrow.”
KARINE ICHER - RECORD AT THE SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC
| YEAR | SCORES | FINISH |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 79-68=147 (+5) | CUT |
| 2014 | 72-69-68=209 (-4) | 23rd |
| 2013 | 74-67-77=218 (+5) | T28 |
| 2012 | 71-68-71=210 (-3) | T12 |
| 2010 | 68-68-68=204 (-9) | T8 |
| 2006 | 71-70-67=208 (-5) | T25 |
| 2005 | 72-73-68=213 (E) | T27 |
CAN SHE CHASE?
Haru Nomura already has two wins to her name this season and is within striking distance to make it three this week in Galloway. She withdrew prior to the start of last week’s event in Ann Arbor while battling a cold. Nomura decided against taking any medicine in order to guarantee staying within the Olympic drug testing policies.
The 23-year old happens to be the oldest winner on Tour this season and thinks she will pull from her experience winning in San Francisco in April at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. Wet and gusty conditions plagued the weekend as she battled to a four-shot victory at Lake Merced. The forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms and rain throughout the day on Sunday.
“Maybe tomorrow very bad weather, so like Swinging Skirts last day,” said Nomura. “So I keep my patience tomorrow, too. Everybody is the same, everybody is in the same conditions, so I’ll try to play.”
In her first two victories, she either led or co-led and will try to notch her first come-from-behind win tomorrow. She trails second-round leader Karine Icher by just one shot.
HARU NOMURA’S FIRST TWO VICTORIES
| EVENT | AFTER 54 HOLES | FINAL ROUND | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open | Co-led w/ two others | 65 (-7) | Won by 3 shots |
| Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic | Led by three shots | 73 (+1) | Won by 4 shots |
FINAL PUSH FOR A MAJOR SPOT
Six players made the cut this week who are currently on the outside looking in for a spot in the Tour’s next major – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – set to take place next week at Sahalee Country Club outside Seattle. The final criteria for the field next week for players already not qualified is based on players’ position on the 2016 Official Money List through the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Currently the last player in the field based on the current money list is Budsabakorn Sukapan who ranks 145th on the money list with $11,069 and missed the cut this week. Stephanie Meadow looks poised to make a run at it and is currently tied for 15th at 6-under par. Meadow has yet to make any money on Tour this season but a solo 15th place finish here this week would earn her $22,160.
PLAYERS FIGHTING FOR A SPOT IN NEXT WEEK’S FIELD
| PLAYER | RANK ON MONEY LIST | CURRENT POSITION THIS WEEK |
|---|---|---|
| Ji Young Oh | 151st ($6,242) | T65 (-1) |
| Anne Catherine Tanguay | 159th ($2,781) | T65 (-1) |
| Stephanie Meadow | N/A ($0) | T15 (-6) |
| Hannah Collier | N/A ($0) | T36 (-3) |
| Marissa Steen | N/A ($0) | T53 (-2) |
| Maria McBride | N/A ($0) | T65 (-1) |
THE PRIDE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
Stephanie Meadow’s work with new coach Jorge Parada is paying off this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer. Currently in a tie for 15th (-6), Meadow will make her first cut on the LPGA since the 2015 ANA Inspiration and is poised to post her best result since a solo third place finish at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in her professional debut.
“I think everything’s kind of come together,” said Meadow. “It’s kind of clicked. I’ve had a pretty rough last year and a half, so it’s kind of nice that all the hard work is paying off, and I just had to stay with my process and believe that it was going to happen, and finally it’s happening.”
The 24-year-old is the first woman from Northern Ireland to play on the LPGA Tour, and qualifies to represent her country in Rio in the current Olympic standings.
“It’s obviously an awesome opportunity, and hopefully I get in; I can’t wait to go. It’s the same as every year. I want to be the best golfer I can be and I want to be out here as much as I can and competing to win trophies, so that’s my goal and Olympics is just kind of -- if I do that, then I’ll be there.”
QUOTABLE
“I think I like to play three-round tournament. I won Arkansas last year. There’s only one round left, and my shot has been really good. Just focus on the target and just enjoy it out there. I heard that this year the winners, average age is 21. The oldest one is 23. Hopefully I can break that one. Bring up the average.”
- Na Yeon Choi on playing for her 10th career LPGA title
“I missed my driver a little bit left and I was on the first cut, a little weird lie, but I hit the 3-wood and see what happened. Hit it, I had like a 35-yard shot, and it landed like five yards short and it just went in on the second bounce, an eagle. It’s a pretty nice way to finish.”
- Mariajo Uribe (-8) describing her 18th hole eagle on Saturday
OF NOTE
- Due to Sunday’s weather forecast, the final round will begin at 6:45am EST. Play will be in groups of 3 off #1 and #10 tees, with the median scores teeing off first
- The cutline (-1, 141) this week is the lowest cut on a par 71 course this year and the second lowest cut overall in 2016 (JTBC Founders Cup: -3, 141)
- Karine Icher’s second round was the fourth round of 62 on the LPGA Tour in 2016 (In Gee Chun, Kingsmill Championship Prestented by JTBC, R3; Mi Hyang Lee, JTBC Founders Cup, R1; Sei Young Kim, JTBC Founders Cup, R4)
- Kim Williams withdrew after the first round due to personal reasons. Belen Mozo withdrew after nine holes in the second round due to a shoulder injury.
TV TIMES THIS WEEK FO SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ACER
Golf Channel
June 4 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern
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