Three-time LPGA Tour winner Ally Ewing shot the round of the week through 36 holes with a 9-under 63 second round at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Moving from T33 after her first-round 70, Ewing sits in a tie for the lead at -11 alongside young Aussie star Grace Kim, who went 68-65 in rounds one and two to put herself in prime position heading into Moving Day.
Ewing started the day just before Kim, teeing off on No. 1 in the morning wave and sinking two birdies right off the bat. She added another on the par-3 5th and then made an impressive eagle on the par-5 8th, her second of the week on that hole but in completely different fashion.
“So hole 8 yesterday was -- we had a different wind today, so hole 8 was downwind yesterday; hit driver 8-iron it three feet,” Ewing said. “Today I just so happened to hit -- I think I hit driver, 5-iron short right and chipped it in. So just like something like that, you just -- you're just trying to get something up and in for birdie. Definitely wasn't anticipating another eagle when you miss the green. Hitting it to three feet, you hope you convert that. But yeah, two different ways to make eagle. Certainly happy with both of them though.”
After making the turn in 31, Ewing added four more birdies on the back to come in at 63, tying her career-low round on the LPGA Tour and her career-best 36-hole score with 133.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the course Kim was also going low, getting off to a hot start with birdies on Nos. 11, 12 and 14. She dropped a shot with a bogey on 17, but quickly made up for it and then some with an eagle on 18. After a frustrating streak of five-straight pars, she finally sank three consecutive birdies on 6, 7 and 8 to finish 7-under on the day and -11 overall.
It wasn’t long ago that Kim last held a 36-hole lead. At the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, Kim dominated the field at Wilshire Country Club during rounds one and two, but ultimately finished T25 after two tough rounds on the weekend. Hunting for her second LPGA Tour victory, Kim is taking each opportunity at the top to “learn how to win”
“I mean, you know you're in a good position when you're in contention and playing in the last few groups on the weekend. So making sure that take that in, don't get too nervous,” Kim said when asked what being in contention teaches her. “I know the nerves will be there, but I guess that's normal. Like that's what you get for being good at golf. Everyone will be nervous, and I think the leaderboard is quite stacked, so, yeah, just got to play your own game.”
There is indeed a stacked leaderboard behind Ewing and Kim, with LPGA Tour winner Nanna Koerstz Madsen and two-time KLPGA winner Narin An just behind them at -9 and in a tie for third. Five players follow them at T5, including major champion Allisen Corpuz and two-time Meijer LPGA Classic champion Brooke Henderson. People’s Republic of China golfer Jing Yan, who is the only player in the field to go bogey free in both rounds at Blythefield Country Club, is also among those tied for fifth with Saturday ahead.
Eighty-one players made the cut at -2, including defending champion Leona Maguire and 2015 Meijer LPG Classic champion Lexi Thompson, who has missed the cut in her last four starts on Tour. Notables to miss the cut are six-time 2024 Tour winner Nelly Korda and major-champion Minjee Lee.
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