Feb 07, 2020: For the fifth consecutive round, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom is atop the LPGA Tour leaderboard. The 27-year-old leads the ISPS Handa Vic Open at -13, having followed Thursday’s 65 with a round of 5-under 67 on the Beach Course.
Two weeks ago, the 2015 graduate of Louisiana State University held the lead after the last three rounds of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, where she became a Rolex First-Time Winner. After getting off to a good start with a 71 in the opening round, Diksha Dagar missed the cut with a 75 in the second round.
“I think when you come off such a high, you don’t really know what to expect, like ‘can you keep it going or am I going to start over’ kind of thing,” said Sagstrom. “I’m really happy that I put myself in the position that I’m in, and being able to keep up really good play, especially keeping it rolling really nice on the greens. If you roll it good, you need to make putts to be in contention.”
American Ally McDonald is solo second at -12 and looks to join Sagstrom as a first-time LPGA Tour winner. The 2019 USA Solheim Cup team member is bogey-free for the tournament, carding eight birdies in her first 12 holes on Friday before parring her way home.
“After I hit the ball really well yesterday, I was hoping to go out and make a lot of birdies and I did,” said McDonald. “I started the round 8-under through 12 and the wind kind of picked up. Just didn’t have any really close looks at birdie in the last six holes, but very, very pleased with where I’m at.”
Second-year LPGA Tour player Linnea Strom sits third at -10, tied with 2019 KLPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Ayean Cho and Australian Robyn Choi, who made back-to-back eagles in her round of 8-under 65 on the Creek Course. Choi played holes 7-11 on the Creek Course at -7, opening with the two eagles and following with three birdies.
LPGA Tour rookie Haley Moore, who started the day one stroke off the lead, was +2 through nine holes but turned things around on the back nine. She played her final nine holes in -3 to card a second-round 71 and heads into the weekend tied for 11th at -8.
Following the second round, the field was cut to the top 60 professionals and ties at -3, with two amateurs also making the cut. The third and fourth rounds will both be held on the Beach Course. Defending champion Celine Boutier shot 72-72 and missed the cut at -1 overall. Other notables to miss the cut include Dame Laura Davies, who followed her first-round 67 with a 77 on Friday to finish at -1, and Australian golf legend Karrie Webb, whose second-round 70 left her three shots off the cut line at Even.
ALLY MCDONALD ENJOYING NEW YEAR AT VIC OPEN
Two years, two very different outcomes at the ISPS Handa Vic Open for Ally McDonald. The 27-year old from Fulton, Miss., shot 77-71 in 2019 to miss the first cut at 13th Beach Golf Links. One year later and she’s just one stroke off the lead, her second-round 65 tied for the third-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career.
“Last year I was still in a little bit of a swing change transition and I have a better grasp for sure beginning of this year,” said McDonald, a two-time First-Team All-American at Mississippi State University. “Short offseason, so I feel like I’ve kind of rolled out of CME quickly into Boca. Yeah, I’m just happy to be here, happy that I played a lot better these last two rounds than I did last year.”
McDonald enjoyed the best season of her career in 2019. She made 18 cuts in 25 tournaments, including her last 11 consecutive, and earned three top-10 finishes, including a tie for 10th at the U.S. Women’s Open. Thanks to that success, USA Solheim Cup Captain Juli Inkster brought McDonald with the team to Gleneagles, and McDonald was called into service when Stacy Lewis was forced to withdraw due to injury.
“I think it was huge for my career and a big confidence boost for me, just where I see my career heading in the next few years,” said McDonald, who ultimately went 1-3-1 for Team USA. “I definitely want to be part of another one now that I’ve got one.”
ACE FOR JING YAN
Jing Yan made the third hole-in-one of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, acing the 154-yard third hole of the Beach Course with a 7-iron. It was her fourth career hole-in-one and first in a competitive round.
“I wanted to hit a 6-iron, but then it was kind of in between clubs, so talked to my caddie and we went with a 7,” said Yan. “Just carried the bunker. Hit the shot with a little bit of a draw. Really liked the look of it, but I didn’t really think it was going to go in the hole. Then my fellow players and caddies are like, ‘Oh, there’s a chance of it going in.’ I didn’t see it go in, but yeah, it went in and I was pretty happy about it.”
For that ace, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The 2019 LPGA Tour season saw 32 aces from 31 different players, which more than covers the average cost of $425,000 needed to treat a pediatric cancer patient.
Yan ultimately shot +2 on the day and missed the cut at +2 overall.
