Teresa Lu of Taiwan finished tied for fourth place on the second day of the Swinging Skirts invitational charity tournament in New Taipei yesterday after shooting a 3-over 75.
Entering the second round tied for first, Lu finished yesterday with a one-under two-round total of 143 along with Mayumi Shimomura of Japan, Young Kim-char of South Korea, Azahara Munoz of Spain and Cristie Kerr of the US.
“It’s finally over and I’m glad I finished it,” Lu said, adding that the weather conditions were so bad that she was unable to perform as well as usual.
“I was constantly trying to save the ball [for even-par],” the 25-year-old said. “It’s a pity. I could have done better.”
The weather started to worsen in the early afternoon, with strong wind, heavy rain and falling temperatures.
“It added variables to the game,” Lu said.
The poor weather conditions also bothered World No. 2 Choi Na-yeon of South Korea, who shot three birdies and three bogeys in taking a two stroke lead over compatriotsYoung Park-hee and Shin Jiyai, both of whom finished the day two under par on 142.
“It was a difficult day. A lot of rain and a lot of wind. Cold and dark. It was really tough,” Choi said, although she added that she was happy with her position.
“I finished strong ... I’m in a very good position right now, and I’m very confident with this golf course, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow,” Choi said.
She said luck had been on her side.
In addition to a 45-foot putt she made at the par-4 ninth, Choi, who drove a tee shot out of bounds at the par-4 15th, bogeyed the hole with a nice and “lucky” chip in, she said.
In order to deal with the conditions, Choi said she kept telling herself to think positively and tried to have fun. She also gave credit to her caddie, saying that “he did a good job.”
Asked about her expectations for today, Choi said that if the weather remains bad, “even-par is a good score.”
Yeon Ryu-so of South Korea seemed to be less affected by the weather and had the lowest score of the day, a 4-under round of 68.
“It was hard to predict the ball due to the weather,” said Ryu, who shot an even-par two-round total of 174 to tie for ninth with four other players.
Due to elbow and shoulder injuries, Taiwan’s Yani Tseng, the world’s top female golfer, was not on the course to defend her title.
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