Kim tames weather to lead British Open
I.K. Kim, the best player in women’s golf, emerged from the cold and wet with a 4-under-par 68 to build a two-shot lead in the Women’s British Open going into the weekend.
A two-time winner on the LPGA Tour over the past two months, Kim dropped only one shot in some of the worst conditions at Kingsbarns Links in St. Andrews, Scotland, and reached the halfway point at 11-under 133. She was two shots clear of Lexi Thompson and Georgia Hall of England.
Kim displayed a remarkable fortitude in weather that veered between bright sunshine and torrential downpours toward the end of the day. The 29-yearold from South Korea atoned for her lone bogey with three birdies and an eagle on the 538-yard 11th hole.
“The eagle was very unexpected,” Kim said before conceding her drive landed on a friendly downslope and gained an extra 30 yards or so. “I think this was kind of as bad as the weather could get. I expected rain, but not like this. It’s not easy to play in this kind of weather. But I feel really good about my game. I’ve been hitting the ball very well and I’m starting to make some putts. That’s when I shoot low scores.”
Still, perhaps the most significant move came from Thompson, the No. 2 player in the world.
Two-over par and birdie-free after nine holes, the big-hitting Floridian played the homeward nine in 30 with six birdies — five in succession. In addition, she found time to add a new phrase to golf ’s terminology.
“I ball-striked it out there,” she said. That was fair enough, if grammatically flawed. Even on that disappointing front nine, the eight-time LPGA champion struck her shots with an authority few in the women’s game can match.
“I actually hit it the same throughout both nines,” she said. “I just left myself with 30-40 feet on my two bogeys and three-putted them. I hit great shots. Going in, they were going right at the flag, but they both got bounces that went sideways. Then I didn’t make the second putt. But I hit it great the whole day and just got on a roll there on the back.” World Golf Championship: Jimmy Walker endured rain delays of nearly five hours and shot a 5-under 65 to build a two-shot lead at the Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Ohio.
Walker saw some good results in a year marked by coping with Lyme disease and bouts of fatigue. The timing couldn’t be better for Walker, who defends his PGA Championship title next week.
He made birdie from short range on both par 3s on the back nine at Firestone and finished two rounds at 7-under 133.
Thomas Pieters of Belgium missed a 6-foot birdie chance on the 18th hole and shot 70. He was two shots behind.
Rory McIlroy had a 69 and was among those three shots behind, while Jordan Spieth finished with two consecutive birdies and was four behind. PGA Tour: Richy Werenski birdied six holes and eagled No. 18 to take a two-point lead in the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour’s only modified Stableford scoring event.
Werenski had a 15-point round to reach 26 points for two rounds at Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno. Stuart Appleby is second after a sixbirdie, two-bogey round.
The scoring system awards eight points for double eagle, five points for an eagle, two points for a birdie and deducts a point for a bogey and three points for a double bogey or worse. Champions Tour: Two-time tournament winner Kenny Perry shot a 7-under 65 to hold a share of the lead after the first round of an event in Blaine, Minn.
Perry, who won at TPC Twin Cities in 2014 and 2015, opened his round with six consecutive birdies. He finished with another one to join Mike Goodes atop the leaderboard.
Scott Verplank, Marco Dawson, Gene Sauers and Jay Haas finished at 6-under.