Mother Nature was again a story on Friday as round two of the Kingsmill Championship presented by Geico in Williamsburg, Va. was delayed an hour at the start of the day due to three-quarters of an inch of overnight rain from Thursday.
Once the rain had passed, the rest of the morning and early afternoon went off without a hitch.
Storms once again developed around 3 p.m. and the horns blew at 3:32 p.m.
Play was suspended until 4:49 p.m. and continued into the evening before the second round was called for the night due to course conditions being deemed unplayable at 7:25 p.m.
The second round will resume on Saturday at 7:30 a.m while the third round will begin at 10:30 a.m., off split tees and in threesomes with those who make the cut, which currently sits at 1-under. There are 60 players on the course that still need to complete round two.
In Gee Chun, the 15th-ranked played in the world, leads by one at 11-under. Austin Ernst and Nasa Hataoka share second place at 10-under.
Henderson and Ernst fire the rounds of the day
Despite poor weather impacting most of the field Friday, Brooke Henderson and Austin Ernst took advantage of the soft conditions to shoot matching 6-under-par 65s, which was the round of the day.
Henderson, already a winner on the LPGA Tour this year (LOTTE Championship) moved from T48 all the way to a tie for 8th, while Ernst moved from a tie for 8th to a tie for 2nd.
It was Ernst’s lowest round of the season, while it was just one off Henderson’s low round of 2018 (7-under 65 at the third round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship).
Ernst was bogey-free on Friday and said she got a lot of good work in with her father and putting coach Gareth Raflewski while off for the last two weeks.
“It was a lot of fun. I should do this more often,” said Ernst with a smile. “My game has felt really good all year, it’s really just been a matter of cleaning a few things up.”
Ernst said the golf course fits her eye as a Pete Dye layout. She grew up playing a course designed by his son, P.B., and she said she sees a lot of the same features.
“You need to be a good ball-striker, you need to drive the ball well (and) good iron shots are a premium out here,” she said. “Whatever it is about the place, I really like it.”
Henderson’s scorecard was a little more colorful than Ernst’s, as she made eight birdies but mixed in two bogeys as well on No’s 6 and 9.
Henderson admitted she was disappointed in the way her round Thursday went, but was more pleased with how good of a start she had Friday, and said she was happy to move up the leaderboard as much as she did. Jumping 40 spots made her the biggest mover of the day.
“I was a lot more determined today than yesterday. Yesterday I was kind of finding it hard to stay focused and kind of find my groove,” said Henderson. “Today once I started to make a few putts and hit it close I felt like I could go really deep under par. I wanted to climb that leaderboard, so I'm happy I was able to do that.”
Chun looking for first win in two years
If there is anyone who is ‘due’ for a victory on the LPGA Tour, it’s In Gee Chun.
Chun, who holds the lead by one shot with most of the field still to finish their second rounds, had five runner-up finishes in 2017 and eight top-3 results. She said her putting was the key to her success on Friday. She made only one bogey alongside six birdies, to a shoot a 5-under-par 66.
One of Chun’s runner-up results in 2017 came at the Kingsmill Championship, and she said she feels comfortable on the golf course.
“I always happy to play here and see all the good people from here,” she said. “I really like to play here. Course is not too easy, so (you) need to think about percentages on the course.”
Jutanugarn keeping good vibes going at Kingsmill
Ariya Jutanugarn, whose sister Moriya finally notched her first victory of her LPGA Tour career earlier this year, is looking for her first win in 2018. And through two rounds in Williamsburg, she’s within shouting distance.
Jutanguarn had a colorful Friday, as she made seven birdies but had three bogeys as well to shoot a 4-under-par 67. At 9-under through 36 holes, she sits in a tie for fourth.
The winner of this event in 2016, Jutanugarn said she’s felt confident in her play of late.
Overall she said her iron play was sharp - she hit 12/14 fairways and 16/18 of greens – but battled a balky putter at times (taking 30 putts on Friday).
Jutanugarn made her debut at the Kingsmill Championship as a 17-year-old in 2013 when she burst onto the scene, finishing in a tie for 3rd. That result, combined with her victory three years later, has confirmed her admiration for the Kingsmill resort.
“I’m going to say I love it here,” she said Friday.
Nasa Hataoka Nearly Makes Another Ace on 17
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