American pair Anna Grzebien and Meaghan Francella took charge at the USLPGA Hana Bank Kolon Championship yesterday but world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa had an off day.
Grzebien and Francella fired matching 66s to be one shot ahead of a chasing pack of six players at the US$1.7 million event, led by local stars Shin Ji-yai, Kim Bo-kyung and Kang Ji-min.
But Ochoa, who successfully defended her title at the Navistar Classic in Alabama at her last event earlier this month, slumped to a 73.
Also struggling is last year’s winner Candie Kung of Taiwan, who failed to find her touch in a disappointing 76.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng was three off the lead at 69.
Grzebien said she felt comfortable all day and mixed it up well in her six-under-par opening round.
“I was just steady all day. Obviously, if you make no bogeys, then you’re just kind of playing the course right,” she said.
■SINGAPORE OPEN
REUTERS, SINGAPORE
Sweden’s Daniel Chopra fired a flawless six-under-par 65 to take the clubhouse lead after the second round of the Singapore Open yesterday following a second lengthy weather delay that put the tournament well behind schedule.
Chopra was one of only 61 players to finish their second rounds after another stop-start day at the Sentosa Golf Club and his seven-under par total put him two shots clear of those who have completed 36 holes.
First round leader Ian Poulter and Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yih-shin are also on seven under for the tournament, but both had yet to reach the turn and were to return with a majority of the field to complete their second rounds this morning.
■WORLD MATCHPLAY
REUTERS, CASARES, SPAIN
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh battled to create the upset of the opening rounds in the World Matchplay Championship on Thursday.
Singh, nursing a sore ankle that forced him to miss last week’s Phoenix Open, not only defeated Europe’s current No. 1 and former Matchplay winner Lee Westwood but disposed of the world No. 5 by a crushing six holes.
Westwood now faces an early exit. The money-list leader’s only consolation is that two of his Race to Dubai rivals, second-placed Martin Kaymer and fourth-placed Paul Casey, cannot make the weekend’s semi-finals.
In normal matchplay knockout, Singh would have won 5 and 4 but he was able to add the extra hole because all round-robin group stage matches on Thursday and yesterday went to the 18th.
Anthony Kim came into the event as eighth choice of qualifiers from the US but continued his impressive form at matchplay despite a poor year in strokeplay events.
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