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Brazilian leads stormy US Open

Park In-bee hits a shot from the rough on the 15th hole during the second round of the US Women's Open Championship on Friday in Southern Pines, North Carolina. PHOTO: AFP

Brazilian Angela Park kept her lead at the US Women's Open on Friday without even lifting a club after a storm allowed only 25 of 156 players to complete their second round.

Nearly half the field never made it onto the course because of lightning near Pine Needles. Players were scheduled to return to the course yesterday morning in hopes of an afternoon start to the third round.

Park fired a three-under par 68 on Thursday in the first round, which did not finish until Friday morning thanks to a strong storm on Thursday.

Park In-bee, an 18-year-old US player who was born in South Korea, fired a second-round 73 to take the clubhouse lead at level par 142, one stroke ahead of US players Angela Stanford and Kris Tamulis and South Korean Jeong Jang.

"I was having a hard time keeping the ball in the fairway with the driver, but I was getting really good lies in the rough, luckily," Park In-bee said.

"So I was able to get the ball on the green, or by the green, and my short game was really good," she said. "I've definitely got to work on my driver a bit for the next few days and keep the ball in the fairway."

"I'm not hitting the ball so good, but I'm just trying to make pars."

Alexis Thompson, 12-year-old US Open qualifier

Stanford hit 14 greens in regulation after awakening before 5am to finish her last four holes from round one.

"Anytime you have to play more than 18 holes on a US Open course, you're in for a long day, so I started to unravel a little bit," she said. "It felt pretty steady up until the last five or six holes."

Defending champion Annika Sorenstam of Sweden dropped six shots in 17 holes to slip to 5-over for the tournament.

Scotland's Janice Moodie was about to make a 0.3m tap-in putt at the 18th hole when the siren sounded halting play, forcing her to mark the ball and wait until yesterday morning.

Alexis Thompson, the youngest US Women's Open qualifier in history at age 12, was struggling at 12-over after 13 holes when play was halted. for the day.

"I'm not hitting the ball so good, but I'm just trying to make pars," she said.

US Golf Association rules director Mike Davis said there was no real hope of finishing the third round yesterday.
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