Back in the reckoning
Wie and Korda put champions USA in the driver’s seat
INCHEON (South Korea): With a typhoon approaching and rain falling, Michelle Wie and Jessica Korda had plenty of opposition to overcome on the second day of the International Crown women’s team golf tournament.
And overcome it they did. Wie and Korda led the way as the United States won both fourballs matches against Thailand yesterday to move to the top of Pool B in the eight-nation tournament.
“It was tough out there,” Wie said.
“It was cold, it was raining. It was not ideal temperature ... but it turned out pretty well.”
Organisers tried to complete two rounds yesterday because of the approaching Typhoon Kongrey, but play ended in the middle of the third because of the conditions.
Wie and Korda bounced back from Thursday’s loss to Sweden by defeating Moriya Jutanugarn and Pornanong Phatlum 6-and-4. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson made it two wins in a row with a 4-and-3 victory over Ariya Jutanugarn and Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong.
“I think what makes us so strong is our attitude together,” Thompson said.
“We are always pumping each other up, feeding positive thoughts into each other’s mind.”
The two victories at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, 40km (25 miles) west of Seoul, give the defending champions six points. Sweden is next with four points while Japan and Thailand have three each.
After three rounds of fourballs, the top two teams from each pool and one wild-card team will advance to the singles event. The team collecting the most points over the four days win the title. Teams get two points for a win and one if the match is halved.
After the second round, the players quickly returned from the clubhouse for the third. Wie and Korda walked off the course after the 12th, 1-down against Japanese pair Nasa Hataoka and Ayako Uehara. Kerr and Thompson were 1-up after the 11th against Misuzu Narita and Mamiko Higa.
Sweden and Thailand each led one match in their encounter.
England lead Pool A with seven points, one ahead of top-seeded South Korea.
The two teams faced each other in the third round, each leading one match when play was halted. Bronte Law and Jodi Ewart Shadoff were 1-up against Chun In-gee and Ryu So-yeon after the sixth, while Park Sung-hyun Park and I.K. Kim were 4-up after the eighth against Charley Hull and Georgia Hall.
Australia, with three points, were leading eighth-seeded Taiwan in both matches.