Jutanugarn takes Canadian Open lead
Bangkok native, 20, shoots bogeyfree second round
PRIDDIS, ALTA. — No driver, no problem for Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.
Despite not carrying a driver in her bag, Jutanugarn shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Friday to move atop the leaderboard through two rounds of play at the LPGA’s Canadian Open.
“I hit my tee shots pretty good and I was calm on every shot, so I feel good,” said the 20-year-old Bangkok native, who’s alone in first place at 12 under after carding eight birdies on the Raven course of the Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club.
“Honestly, I don’t think it suits with my game. To me, it’s a little bit narrow and I can’t hit my driver.”
Not having the big stick didn’t cause any problems for Jutanugarn, who hit 14-of-14 fairways on Friday using either her 3-wood or 2-iron.
“Sometimes I feel more confident with my irons, so I feel like this one I’ve got to make sure it’s in the fairway, so it’s good enough,” said Jutanugarn, who is currently No. 2 in the Rolex women’s world golf rankings behind New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and just ahead of Brooke Henderson from Smiths Falls, Ont. “I mean some weeks I use my driver if it’s wide enough and if I need the distance, but this week I don’t need that.”
South Korea’s In Gee Chun birdied the 17th hole before draining a nine-foot putt for eagle on the 18th to shoot a 5-under 67.
“I had three bogeys today, but it was a really good finish on the 18th hole,” said Chun, whose twoday total of 9 under has put her in striking distance of accomplishing what she set out to do at the start of the four-day tournament. “My goal is top three this week, so I can try.”
Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow followed up her round of 66 on Thursday with a 69 on Friday to pull into a tie with Chun for second spot.
Ko also shot 69 to put her in a five-way tie for fourth spot with Sei Young Kim, Hyo Joo Kim, Mi Jung Hur and Chella Choi, all of whom hail from South Korea.
“I played pretty solid the past few days,” said Ko, who has won the Canadian Open in three of the past four years including last year at the Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.
“There’s still a lot of golf to be played. Right now I feel like I’m playing solid, so it’s a good position going into the weekend.”
Choi finished up the final four holes of her first round early on Friday morning after play was suspended the night before due to darkness.
She had the first round lead of 7-under 65, but fell out of top spot after shooting 71 during her second trip around the par-72, 6,622yard layout.