Moriya two off lead, Ariya struggles again
Thai trails leader Park by couple of shots at Evian, younger sister Ariya cards round to forget
>> EVIAN: Moriya Jutanugarn got off to a good start hitting a six-under-par 65 to stay second in the first round of the Evian Championship on Friday.
The 22-year-old Thai was two shots behind pacesetter Park Sung-Hyun who took the lead Friday, 24 hours after Thursday’s play was wiped out by heavy rain and fierce winds with the South Korean star stranded at six over after six holes.
Moriya made her move with an outward 30, ending the half with three straight birdies. She also birdied the 18th from three feet to sneak into second place.
The Thai golfer has never won on the LPGA Tour.
“But I reckon if I keep knocking on the door, one day it will be my turn,” she said.
Her sister Ariya’s struggle continued when she shot a six-over 77 in the year’s final major.
Ariya has missed the cut in three consecutive majors.
Park, the US Women’s Open champion, made the most of the reprieve and shot a 63.
With seven birdies and a chip-in eagle at the 13th, Park led by two shots from Moriya with Australian Katherine Kirk, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist on 66.
Sophia Schubert, the US Women’s Amateur champion, made her mark playing alongside the professionals with an impressive opening 68, two better than defending champion Chun In-Gee and seven ahead of world No.1 Ryu So Yeon.
In Thursday’s foul conditions, Park made a quintuple bogey nine at the 11th [her second hole] and a six at the par three 14th. Two holes later, play was stopped.
Several hours later, the LPGA made the decision to abandon day one and make it a 54-hole Championship.
“I was l ucky,” admitted t he 23-year-old South Korean. “I was able to forget yesterday [Thursday] and just focus on today. I would be lying if I didn’t say I was surprised the scores were wiped out.
“I wasn’t feeling too good about my game when I started today, but I played great. Putted well and I am delighted with the score.”
Playing in her final tournament before retirement, Japan’s Ai Miyazato made a great start with a 68.
She won the title in 2009 and 2011 — it became a major in 2013.
“I chipped in for birdie at the first hole, so that was a good start,” she said.
“I’m just enjoying the joy of playing the game right now. Doesn’t really feel like my last tournament.”
Laura Davies, another two-time winner before the event became a major, is now a 53-year-old veteran.
She was four over par for eight holes on Thursday, but shot a two under 69 to raise hopes of maybe making it win No.3 at Evian. “Wiping out yesterday’s play was the fairest thing to do,” insisted Davies.