The second round of the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort and Spa saw some low rounds once again, despite the colder weather and wind gusts. Three players share the lead at -10 with 18 holes left to play.
The lowest round of the day belonged to co-leader, Miranda Wang who shot -7 on the day. Wang was -8 through 12 but tried to block the scores out of her mind until she finished the round.
“I’ve shot -6 on the front nine before. The first time I did it, I was nervous on the back nine, I just wanted to get more birdies,” said Wang. “But today I just kept myself focused on hitting every shot. I didn’t think about the score.”
Maddi Caldwell-Young held her first-round co-lead after signing for a second-round 68. The Georgia native carded three bogeys on the day but kept her score under par with seven birdies.
“I made a couple of mistakes out there for sure, but I just tried to stay patient. Some of the putts fell and I made some good swings,” said Caldwell-Young. “I made a couple of mistakes coming in, but I definitely tried to stay patient. I think that was the most important thing.”
Like Caldwell-Young, Natasha Andrea Oon also held onto her first-round co-lead. Oon’s scorecard looks similar to co-leader, Caldwell-Young with seven birdies and three bogeys. According to the 2023 Epson Tour rookie, the putter was put to the test during Saturday’s second round.
“I was hitting it really well. Sometimes the putts went in and sometimes they didn’t,” said Oon. “I had a lot of shots that were within 20 feet, so it was just a putting game at that point. My ball striking went really well out there.”
2023 Epson Tour champion, Gabriela Ruffels sits in solo fourth place at -9. The Australian signed for a second-round, bogey-free 66 which consisted of four birdies and an eagle. Selena Costabile rounds out the top five in solo fifth place, just three strokes shy of the leading trio. The Canadian signed for a second-round 70 to head into the final round at -7 total. A total of 66 players made the cut at +2 including past IOA Championship winner, Sophie Hausmann.
QUICK QUOTES
Gabriela Ruffels (-9, 4th) on confidence from a win at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic:
“Last week I won in Phoenix, which was awesome, and definitely whenever you win it gives you momentum. I feel like I’ve just been riding on that a little bit this week and hopefully, I can keep it going tomorrow.”
Savannah Vilaubi (-6, T6) on being in position to chase the lead:
“It’s easier to chase. I think my position is good, I’m feeling really good about my game overall. I’m practicing committing to a shot and seeing it all the way through. The more times I can do that, the better off I’ll be. The past couple of days I’ve had a lot of moments of clarity and some spots we can work it out.”
Laetitia Beck (-6, T6) on a second-round 69:
“I was consistent. I don’t remember how many greens or fairways, but it was a stress-free round. There was one hole where I was in the bunker and couldn’t hit the green, but other than that, I hit a lot of greens.”
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