New York (AFP) – Defending champion Jeeno Thitikul pounced late after gusty winds died down to fire a three-under par 69 and take a three-stroke lead in the LPGA Mizuho Americas Open on Friday. The world number two from Thailand built a 36-hole total of eight-under 136 at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey, where the chilly, blustery winds made putting the speedy, undulating greens particularly difficult for much of the day. She was three shots clear of American Jennifer Kupcho, who also carded a 69 for 139.
“I didn’t do well when the wind (was) really picking up in the beginning,” Jeeno said. “Luckily we didn’t have much wind on the back nine. After the rain came the wind just, like, shut down. We were just lucky. If we got the breeze (that we had) on the front nine, I don’t think my number is going to be that low for sure.”
Related news
Jeeno, who won last year when the tournament was played at Liberty National, teed off on 10 and had two bogeys and a birdie in her first nine holes. After a birdie and a bogey at the first and second she got rolling, seizing the solo lead with back-to-back birdies at the third and fourth and picking up two more strokes at the sixth and eighth. Although she acknowledged the luck of her tee time, Jeeno was also pleased with her game. “I just hit it good, too,” she said. “I made two long putts. I hit it good on the par three and then birdied two par-fives, reaching the green.”
Kupcho’s day was almost a mirror image of Jeeno’s as she teed off early and had five birdies in the first 13 holes before a pair of late bogeys dropped her to five-under. “I think early this morning on the front nine there was definitely a lot less wind, hardly any at all really,” said Kupcho, whose four LPGA titles include a major at the 2022 Chevron Championship. Once the wind kicked up, she said, players had to take care not to run putts off the green. “The greens are really fast, so you just have to think about it and just be careful about what you’re doing. It’s a really hard golf course,” she added, noting that the pin placements on multiple back-nine holes were on the sides of a hill.
Former world number one Lydia Ko slid down the leaderboard with a three-over 75 that included a double bogey at 18. “It’s probably one of the rare occasions where you shoot 75 and you’re not, like, stressing out too much about it,” said the ninth-ranked New Zealander, who thought some of the pin positions were “questionable” after a round that dropped her six off the pace.
American Brooke Matthews was alone in third after an even par round of 72 for 140. France’s Celine Boutier was first off the tee and took advantage of the favorable conditions, matching the best round of the day with a four-under 68 that left her in fourth on three-under 141. Overnight leader Andrea Lee endured a nightmare day, carding seven bogeys before her first birdie of the day at 16 and closing with another bogey at 18 for a seven-over 79.
© 2024 AFP
