Australian Hannah Green on Friday pitched in from 60 yards to save par early in her second round en route to a three-shot halfway lead over Ariya Jutanugarn at the Women’s PGA Championship in Chaska, Minnesota.
Green’s unlikely save at her third hole, the par-four 12th, came after she had hit her second shot into a penalty area she barely knew existed at Hazeltine National.
“I actually didn’t even notice the hazard yesterday,” the 22-year-old from Perth said after carding three-under-par 69.
Photo: AFP
At seven-under 137, Green set a cracking pace in the major championship, her morning score holding up for the rest of the day.
Ariya was the only one to threaten, but the Thai slipped back with two bogeys in the final six holes for a round of 70.
She was alone in second place, while defending champion Park Sung-hyun (71) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (70) were equal third on three-under.
Near the wrong end of the field, Michelle Wie shot 82 on the back of her first-round 84.
The 29-year-old, reduced to tears on Thursday as she spoke about the impact of injury on her career, was attempting to play this week after taking two months off to allow bone chips and nerve entrapment in her right hand and wrist to heal.
“I was overly optimistic about how I could play this week and the status of my wrist,” she said.
Green has not won on the LPGA Tour and has only one top-10 finish this year.
A 73 for the round put Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling on two-over 146 and in a share of 36th, while compatriot Chien Pei-yun’s 73 lifted her to three-over 147 and in 45th place heading into the weekend.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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