Angela Park used her strong putting and iron play to take a one-shot lead in the weather-hit second round of the US Women’s Open golf tournament on Friday.
Park carded a six-under-par 67 and is at six-under-140 for the tournament, which was delayed for over two hours to lightning and rain.
Play was suspended with 36 golfers still on the course. The second round will resume early yesterday followed by the third round.
PHOTO: AP
“Every putt I hit out there was flawless and I read the greens really well,” Park said at Interlachen Country Club.
A 19-year-old Brazilian, Park leads Minea Blomqvist, Inbee Park and Helen Alfredsson by one stroke.
Park, who tied for second at last year’s Open, seems to peak for the championship.
PHOTO: AP
“Knowing that it’s the most prestigious event in women’s golf gives me a lot of confidence and makes me want to focus a little more than regular events, and I think that’s what makes me play well,” she said. “Having a good finish last year gives me that reminder that I can do well.”
Pat Hurst, the joint first-round leader, shot a miserable 78 to plummet five shots off the pace.
Meanwhile, Annika Sorenstam played her way within five shots of the lead thanks to a round of 70 that could have been better had she not missed a four-foot birdie chance at the last hole.
“I’m hitting the ball as good as I can,” said Sorenstam, who is making her final Open appearance before retiring at the end of the year.
The three-time Open champion sounded confident that the leaders would falter over the final two rounds.
World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa has a lot of work to do, seven shots behind after a 74.
Play was halted by approaching thunderstorms as the first sound of thunder was heard only four minutes after the horn sounded.
Competition resumed after a long delay and 12 groups failed to complete the round before darkness.
It was here in the Minneapolis area that one spectator was killed and five others injured by a lightning strike during the 1991 men’s US Open.
■ FRENCH OPEN
AFP, VERSAILLES, FRANCE
Spanish qualifier Pablo Larrazabal and Englishman David Lynn were the surprise halfway leaders at the French Open after second round action on Friday. Larrazabal, one in front after his opening 65 and in the first group out in the morning at the par-71 Golf National, stretched his lead to four before bogeying the 16th and 17th for a 70.
Lynn came in with a 65 leaving him level with the Spaniard on seven under par, two strokes clear of the chasing pack. But Peter Lawrie of Ireland, Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and Lee Westwood of England are just two shots behind in the company of last year’s US Open winner Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Spain’s Ignacio Garrido. Defending champion Graeme Storm of England was a further stroke back.
The unheralded Larrazabal admitted that he had struggled to get going early on having stayed up late the previous night to watch Spain reach the Euro 2008 final by defeating Russia 3-0 in Vienna.
“I started off a little tired because I was watching the match and a little nervous and made a bogey on the first,” he said. “Then I stared to play well and made birdies on the third and the fourth. Then, I don’t know why but I started to hit the ball badly. I don’t know why but I couldn’t keep the ball on the fairway.”
“But my short game was incredible today and made a couple of great saves on the seventh and eighth,” he said. “One under was a great round. To beat the course with that wind and the way that some of the pin positions were was still a great round.”
Lynn, who chipped in at the last to share the halfway lead, said that he had been confident after recovering from a rib injury that hampered him early in the season.
“I played well yesterday and was so frustrated when I made a seven on the ninth — my finishing hole,” he said. “I wasn’t happy at all but I knew that I was playing well. It was tough today when we started because the wind was around, but that died off on the last few holes and I got my score going.”
The task now for Larrazabal and Lynn will be to hold off a tough chasing pack that includes the in-form Westwood, a close third in the US Open, and a revived Montgomerie. Westwood’s rich vein of form, which has seen him rise to 17th in the world rankings, means that he could be back at the top of the European PGA Tour Order of Merit on Sunday night.
■ BUICK OPEN
AFP, FLINT, MICHIGAN
Bo Van Pelt, who is seeking his first win on the USPGA Tour, shot six-under 66 to reach a 14-under total and take a two-shot lead after the second round of the Buick Open.
The American started on the back nine and birdied five of his first 10 holes before making a birdie on number seven during his bogey-free round.
The 33-year-old Van Pelt started the day tied for the lead with Corey Pavin and Dudley Hart, who shot a four-under 68 and is tied for second with Sweden’s Daniel Chopra at 12-under for the tournament.
Chopra carded a five-under 67, while Pavin stumbled to a two-over 74 and fell eight shots off the pace at six-under overall.
Hart started strong, making birdies on numbers one and two before playing even-par golf for the next 13 holes. The 39-year-old then birdied Nos. 16 and 18, completing his second straight bogey-free round.
Woody Austin, who birdied four straight holes and eagled another to move within striking distance of taking the lead after his front nine, bogeyed his final hole — No. 9 on the course — to fall into a tie for fourth with Matt Jones at 11-under for the tournament.
Jones had the best round of the day, making five birdies and two eagles to surge into contention with a nine-under 63.
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