LPGA Release – August 25, 2018: After a rousing 67 helped Aditi Ashok make a great start to the CP Women’s Open, she suffered a disappointing 74 in the second round. The Indian ended the day at T43, having conceded two strokes to the course at three under through 36 holes.
Yang in the lead, chased by Yin
Amy Yang hasn’t won since February of 2017, but she’s looking to break that drought this week at the CP Women’s Open.
Yang made nine birdies Friday and shot a 7-under-par 65. She sits at 13-under par and leads by one over Angel Yin and Canada’s Brooke Henderson.
Yang needed only 26 putts Friday and said that was the key to her round.
“My putting was really good today. I was hitting it pretty solid out there, but I gave myself a lot of good chances, and I think I made most of them out there,” she said.
Yang admitted she “got lucky” being able to tee off Friday morning as the winds were wrecking havoc on the players’ scores in the afternoon. She said it was still difficult, but leaned on her experience in high winds in Scotland just a few weeks ago.
Yang has four top-5 finishes this year and is 21st on the Race to the CME Globe.
With a nod to Chinese philosophy, Yang is being chased by (Angel) Yin on the leaderboard of the CP Women’s Open going into the weekend.
Angel Yin backed up her 7-under-par 65 Thursday with a 5-under-par 67 Friday to sit at 12-under. Yin is looking for her best result of the year and her first-ever LPGA Tour title.
She said she was feeding off how well Yang was playing – as they were in the same group Thursday and Friday.
Park looking to defend
After a course-record tying 8-under-par 64 for Sung Hyun Park, the defending champion at the CP Women’s Open is just three shots back of the lead going into the weekend.
Park made seven birdies and an eagle Friday and just one bogey at Wascana Country Club. The 64 was tied for her second-lowest round of the year.
“Today everything felt really good from tee to putting,” said Park. “Even though my putting wasn’t great yesterday, it was better than I anticipated today. I’m pretty satisfied with my round today.”
The 2017 Rookie of the Year has won three times already in 2018, including last week at the Indy Women in Tech Championship.
Park played the first two rounds with Canada’s Brooke Henderson, and was pleasantly surprised at how big the gallery was for their group on Friday, so early in the morning.
“To witness that was pretty awesome, and it helped me enjoy today’s round,” she said.
Jutanugarn grinds it out
Ariya Jutanugarn’s Friday was a much tougher grind than her Thursday, where she tied the course record, but she’s still within shouting distance of the lead.
Jutanugarn shot a 2-under-par 70 in the more difficult Friday afternoon wave. She made three birdies including a twisting 20-footer on her final hole of the day.
“I’m really proud of myself I finally made a putt, because I feel like I missed all the putts today,” said Jutanugarn with a smile.
The three-time winner in 2018 said the weather was definitely a factor during her round. The temperatures dropped almost 30 Fahrenheit over the course of three hours, and the winds gusted to upwards of 45 miles per hour.
“It’s really windy, like so tough today,” said Jutanugarn. “I feel like a lot of great shots that I still make bogey. It was really tough.”
Jutanugarn is three shots back of the lead and in a tie for fourth with three other golfers.
