Kang, Kim tied for women’s PGA lead
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Danielle Kang won backto-back majors as an amateur, yet she’s never cracked the winner's circle in her half-dozen years as a pro. The 24-year-old Californian took a big step in the right direction Friday, grabbing a share of the secondround lead in the morning wave at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Her biggest hurdle could well be co-leader Sei Young Kim, the LPGA Tour's 2015 Rookie of the Year and already a six-time winner on tour. Kang and Kim each shot 5-under 66 to reach 7-under 135.
First-round leader Amy Yang (71), Chella Choi (70), Brittany Lincicome (66), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (66) and Mi Hyang Lee (67) were another stroke back.
So Yeon Ryu (68), who climbed to No. 1 in the world ranking after a victory last week and won the LPGA Tour's first major of the season, was at 5-under, along with defending champion Brooke Henderson (69), Moriya Jutanugarn (68) and Sarah Jane Smith (67).
Lydia Ko shot 68 to put herself back in contention at 4-under. Michelle Wie also was 4-under, following her opening 68 with a 70.
Kang, the U.S. Women's Amateur champion in 2010-11, conceded she didn't have a game plan after her last practice round at Olympia Fields Country Club, one of several venues that previously hosted men's majors now being tested by the women.
“I kind of was superoverwhelmed and didn't know what to do,” she said. “So I called my brother, Alex, of course.”
Alex Kang, who plies his trade on the Web.com Tour, was familiar with Olympia Fields and its bunkers, and he gave her some simple advice. “He goes, ‘Just blast it down,’ ” she recalled.
The plan worked as Kang, relying on her driver, hit 11 of 14 fairways and hasn't made a bogey through 36 holes.
Kim carved her path up the leaderboard with a closing flourish, making three birdies in her last five holes. They came on the tougher front-nine side, though players caught a break as the swirling wind that made club selection dicey Thursday subsided in Round 2.
“Fortunately, when I teed off, it was a little less windy,” Kim said, “so I was able to attack the pin.”
The KPMG kicks off a stretch of three majors in six weeks and Ryu could cement her new No. 1 status by adding a second major to the one she claimed in May by beating Lexi Thompson in a playoff at the ANA Inspiration. The LPGA Tour staged a brief celebration as she teed off Thursday, draping her caddie, Tom Watson, in a special green bib.
“The ceremony made me more nervous,” Ryu said. “No. 1, I thought it's a lot of responsibility and it just gave me a lot of pressure. I finally got relaxed a bit more and just played as normal.”
POTOMAC, Md. — David Lingmerth knows he won't have to shoot 20-under par for the week to win at tricky TPC Potomac.
After two near-flawless rounds in the Quicken Loans National, he was halfway there.
The 29-year-old Swede shot his second straight 5-under 65 on Friday to extend his lead to two shots over Geoff Ogilvy, who played in the first group off the 10th tee and also shot 65.
Lingmerth won a Web.com Tour event on the punishing Washington-area layout in 2012. On Friday, he used his reliable fade off the tee to avoid trouble and set up birdie opportunities. He's gone 34 straight holes without a bogey and he finished his round with a birdie from 7 feet.
PEABODY, Mass. — Kenny Perry shot a 6-under 64 for a share of the U.S. Senior Open lead with Kirk Triplett at a record 11-under through two rounds at Salem Country Club.
Triplett followed his opening 62 with a 67 in the morning, and then Perry came from three strokes back to tie him.
Perry missed a 25-footer for birdie on No. 18 just moments before the horn sounded to clear the course because of an approaching storm. The 36-hole total of 129 was one stroke better than the record set by Michael Allen in 2013 in Omaha.
Doug Garwood (67) was two strokes back at 9-under, and Bernhard Langer (65) and Scott Verplank (66) were 8-under.