Aree Song positioned herself to become the youngest winner ever on the LPGA Tour, shooting a 6-under 66 Friday for a share of the lead at the midway point of the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.
"It's my last round as a 17-year-old," she said, "so I wanted to do all right."
The South Korean star, who turned 18 on Saturday, was tied with Lorie Kane, who made birdies on three of her last five holes for a 68, at 9-under 135 after two rounds.
While 14-year-old Michelle Wie is usually billed as the future of women's golf, Song is clearly the more accomplished player at this point.
And maybe this is a telling sign: Song's biography in the LPGA Tour media guide is right alongside Annika Sorenstam's.
The world's best player and her successor?
"I really think my game is good enough to win," Song said. "It's just a matter of getting experience, getting used to everything that goes along with the golf."
The rookie seems to be adjusting just fine to life as a pro. A six-birdie, no-bogey round was hardly out of character.
Song first played in a major tournament as a 13-year-old amateur, tying for 10th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Last year, she was fifth at the U.S. Women's Open. After getting an age exemption from the LPGA, Song turned professional and just missed winning the first major of the year, making a gutsy eagle on the final hole of the Nabisco but losing to Grace Park by a stroke.
"I'm not surprised at all," said Park, who was one shot off the lead.
"At 13 and 14, she was playing the Nabisco and holding her own."
Song displayed a steady putter, making 15-foot birdie tries at 5, 13 and 18. She got a bonus at 16, holing a 35-foot chip from the fringe.
If Song can hold on through the weekend, she would become the youngest winner of an LPGA event. Hall of Famer Marlene Hagge was 18 years, 14 days old when she won the Sarasota Open in 1952.
But don't forget about Sorenstam, who already has two LPGA wins this year. She was five shots behind the co-leaders after rallying for a 69.
"I'm playing really, really good," Sorenstam said. "I think that's about the highest I could have scored. I'm just waiting for some good momentum and a few putts to drop."
She birdied two of the last three holes to make up for a double bogey at the par-3 4th, where her tee shot landed about 20 feet from the flag but skidded into a creek.
Kane took a leisurely approach to her round, eyeing the luxurious homes that line the Eagle's Landing Country Club course south of Atlanta.
"I spent a lot of time looking at the houses, seeing what kind of window dressings they have," she said. "I'm in the process of trying to figure out if I want to put blinds or drapes on my house."
It worked. Kane closed with the three birdies in her final five holes.
And did she decide on a window dressing?
"I think it's going to be plantation shutters," she said with a smile.
Christine Kim, who led after an opening-round 65, was nine strokes worse on Friday. She couldn't build any momentum after bogeying the first hole, settling for a 74 that left her four strokes behind Song and Kane.
"Everything was just a little off," Kim said. "No one cares about the first round, in all honesty. It's all a matter of what happens Sunday afternoon."
Park started her round by hitting into the water and taking a double bogey. But she's learned to control her emotions better the past few years.
RSS