Maguire six back as Meadow misses KPMG Women's PGA cut by one
Leona Maguire. Photo by R&A/Getty Images
Leona Maguire is six shots off the lead after she shot a one-under 69 to move up to tied 24th as Stephanie Meadow missed the cut by a shot in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Aronimink.
The Slieve Russell touring professional made three birdies and two bogeys in her round to end the day just six shots behind South Sei Young Kim, who birdied five of her last six holes to card a five-under 65 and lead by a shot on four-under from Jennifer Kupcho (65), Danielle Kang (69), Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (69) and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist (68).
Meadow followed her opening 78 with a bogey-free 69 but suspected it was one shot too many immediately after her round.
“Really solid, bogey-free, so that was nice, especially out there,” she said. “But yeah, a lot to make up for from yesterday, and I'm not quite sure it's enough. You know, end on a good note, but obviously yesterday kind of killed me.”
Putting has been a problem area for the Galgorm Castle touring professional in recent weeks and it proved her undoing in the first round.
“Definitely had better speed on the greens. Had quite a few three-putts yesterday, and honestly I just hit the ball really solid. I think it played a little easier today. The wind is not quite as up as it was yesterday, although it was pretty chilly this morning. Overall just better ball-striking and better putting. Pretty much everything -- after 8-over, pretty much everything gets better.”
She added: “Obviously my game is in pretty good shape, and I think 8-over yesterday was kind of an anomaly.”
Meadow might not have felt as bad as Klara Spilkova, who breached the Pace of Play Policy and was assessed a two-shot penalty as she completed the 15th hole on Friday.
She thus took a double-bogey 6 at 15, shot 73, and missed the cut by a shot.
Second Round Notes
Jeff Babineau Friday, October 9
Lydia Ko, former World No. 1 who struggled with her game for a few years, slowly is beginning to see good results matching up with the hard work that she and coach Sean Foley have put into her game.
On Friday, Ko didn't make a birdie until her final hole of the day (par-5 ninth), but managed 16 pars and signed for a steady round of 70 that keeps her very much in the mix at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. She stands at 2-under 138, just two shots off the lead.
"I think you just have to stay patient, especially at major championships and at venues like this," she said of Aronimink Golf Club. "I think sometimes the patience runs out and you get frustrated, but making a lot of pars here is good. Obviously, it would be nice to make a few more birdies, but making three birdies and three bogeys and the rest pars is just the same as making 18 pars."
Ko tied for sixth in her last major start at the ANA Inspiration. Still only 23, Ko, from New Zealand, has 15 LPGA victories and two major titles, though she has won only once since 2016 (2018 MEDIHEAL). Ko seems to be having fun on the golf course again, even if she says her struggles never caused her not to love the game.
"I think I've always loved golf itself," Ko said. "Sometimes even though it's all in your head, you think, 'Golf doesn't love me back. But I love you (she laughs), but why won't you love me back?' You have those days, and then you have those days, like 'Man, I didn't deserve that, and I got so much more.'"
The KPMG Women's PGA Championship received a tough blow early Friday when Nelly Korda withdrew prior to the second round, stating that her back did not feel right. Korda, No. 2 in the world and the top-ranked player in the KPMG field (No. 1 Jin Ko Young remains in Korea, and has not played on the LPGA since November), shot an opening 71 on Thursday, only four shots off the lead.
"Unfortunately I am forced to withdraw from the KPMG Championship after my first round due to discomfort in my back," the 22-year-old Korda wrote in an Instagram post. "Was hoping it would be better this morning but unfortunately it is not and I will now go see a specialist. I hope to return to competition soon and wish all the competitors good luck this week."
Two days earlier, Korda, whose length was expected to be a significant asset this week at Aronimink, did not hide her excitement for the course.
"It's awesome to just be out here, the history behind this whole course, and it's a super nice track. It's definitely going to be very challenging around the greens, but I'm very excited to play this week." Korda entered the KPMG Women's PGA on the heels of three consecutive top-five finishes: She tied for third at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, tied for second at the ANA Inspiration, and was fifth last week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. She has finished in the top 10 in five of nine starts in 2020.
Lydia Ko and Charley Hull, who played alongside Korda on Thursday, could tell that something wasn't quite right when the three completed the round.
"I'm not entirely sure if it was something that had been lingering prior," Ko said. "But with the temperature dropping and you getting stiffer, it does make it tough out there. She did mention after the round that her back was bothering her. It's never good. You joke around, hey, you try and take out your opponent, but this is not the case. I always enjoy Nelly's company ... hopefully she'll be able to get some good treatment and she'll be out here playing amazing as she normally does."
Korea's In Gee Chun (67--139), a two-time major champion, will surpass $4,000,000 in career LPGA earnings this weekend at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and that's likely good news for lots of young people in the state of Pennsylvania. Chun, 26, captured the 2015 U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster, about a 90-minute drive from Newtown Square, and has made a big connection to the Lancaster community. It was in Lancaster that Chun met a woman she calls "my second grandmom," who sits on the board of the In Gee Chun Lancaster Education Foundation. The foundation is in its fourth year and helps students attain their educational and vocational goals. Chun says she currently has given scholarships to 21 local caddies and students. One recipient who has started an internship with the PGA of America followed Chun's group and then thanked her afterward for her generosity. "It was a great memory," Chun said, smiling.
Long-hitting Brittany Lincicome didn't make a single birdie on Friday, a rarity for her, and failed to stay aggressive as she'd promised to do a day earlier. But she still found some inherent satisfaction in a round of 72, and enters the weekend only three shots off the lead. There are many good players very much in the mix, with 17 players within four shots of Kim.
"Those pins out there today were not very nice," said Lincicome, a two-time major champion. "I felt like in the past I would have been worried about making the cut and not really focusing on what I was trying to do that I probably would have shot 75 or 76 today. So 2 over wasn't that bad."
It has been a strange week for Mexico's Maria Fassi, one of the more promising talents on the LPGA. She arrived to Philadelphia on Monday after a T-13 showing at the ShopRite LPGA Classic and tested positive for Covid-19. She returned to her hotel room, where she spent the next two days in quarantine, never leaving the room. She said she did yoga and was practising slow swings to stay focused and ready. She was tested again on Tuesday and on Wednesday, and both of those tests came back negative. With that, she showed up to Aronimink on Thursday for her first round, having never seen the golf course. (Her caddie, Mark Wallington, had walked it.) Fassi doubled her last hole and shot 73, and came back with 72 on Friday to make the cut (which fell at 6-over 146).
"Unfortunately, I tested positive for Covid, but I never had symptoms and felt well the whole time," Fassi said. "I had a hard time (Thursday) adapting to the speed of the greens." Two of the top players who were on the leaderboard after Day 1 have had the Covid-19 virus. Gaby Lopez said she only struggled with it for matter of days after testing positive in Toledo when the LPGA returned to action this summer. Spain's Carlota Ciganda had a much more serious bout. Ciganda said she kept testing positive for five weeks. "It took me over a month to recover like properly," Ciganda said. "I was fine after like two weeks, but still a little tired. I was forgetting things. My mind wasn't great. But then I started working out regularly. I lost some weight, as well. It was tough on the body, for sure. Finally, I think I'm back to normal. I feel good again, good energy. But yeah, I think a month and a half, for sure." Lopez withdrew from the Drive On Championship in Toledo, Ohio, in late July after being the first LPGA player to test positive during pre-tournament testing at Inverness Club. "I did feel some symptoms," said Lopez, who opened the season with a victory at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla. "I had a dry throat and I was very tired for two days. But on the third day and the fourth day, I was like 100 percent ... Yeah, it's a serious thing. We all need to take care of ourselves."
Short shots:
Mirim Lee, the 2020 ANA Inspiration champion, withdrew on Friday, citing injury. She shot 77 in the opening round, and decided to withdraw after playing nine holes on Friday.
Australia's Hannah Green, defending champion of the KPMG, showed a lot of heart on Friday. A bogey at the eighth hole dropped her to 9 over for the tournament (she shot 77 Thursday), but she responded by shooting 4-under 31 on the back to post 66 and make the cut with a shot to spare.
Su Oh notched the first eagle at Aronimink this week when she made 3 at the par-5 16th hole. The tee was moved up slightly and the hole played 499 yards
Leader Sei Young Kim has some pretty strong company after shooting 29 in competition on the front nine at Aronimink. Justin Rose and Tiger Woods each shot 29 on that nine in the 2018 BMW Championship. It rained much of that week in 2018 and conditions certainly were easier than what Kim faced on Friday.
The tournament has early finishes slated for both weekend telecasts. NBC airs the third round on Saturday noon-3 p.m., and the fourth round on Sunday from noon-2 p.m.
Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth (Fleming Island, Fla.) led the contingent of eight PGA/LPGA club professionals competing at the KPMG Women's PGA, none of whom made the cut to play on the weekend. Connelly Eiswerth shot 71 on Friday, but missed the cut by three shots.
