Kang tied for 2nd, zeroes in on 1st pro win
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Danielle Kang won backtomajors 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, grabbing a share of the second-round lead in the morning wave Thursday 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), JodiEwart Shadoff (66) and MiHyang 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 thewomen.
“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 theWeb.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 two.
The KPMG kicks off a stretch of three majors in sixweeks andRyu could cement her newNo.1status by adding a second major to the one she claimed inMay by beating Lexi Thompson, of Delray Beach, in a playoff at theANA Inspiration.
Yangwas on the18th fairway a day earlierwhen play was suspended because of lightning. She returned just before 8 a.m. to complete her first round and made a birdie for a 65. Although she got to 7 under, she couldn’t hold it.
Perry, Triplett a record 11 under
PEABODY, Mass. — Kenny Perry’s three-stroke deficit after the first day of the U.S. Senior Open had turned to six by the time he teed off in the second round Friday.
Two holes later, Perry had fallen behind leader Kirk Triplett by eight strokes.
Triplett followed his opening 62 with a 67 in the morning, and then Perry hit a bad drive on each of the first two holes. But he birdied four of the last five holes on the front nine and shot 31 on the back, missing a 25-foot birdie putt onNo. 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, Nebraska. Perrywon that year.
Doug Garwood (67) was two strokes back at 9 under, and Bernhard Langer (65) and Scott Verplank (66) were 8 under. Tom Lehman (68), Fred Couples (65) and Paul Goydos (68) were tied for sixth at 7 under with Joe Durant, whowas amongthe 24players stillonthe course when playwas suspended. ” Among the no tables making the weekend was 67-year-old Tom Watson, who shot back-to-back 69s after missing the cut at the Senior PGA Championship last month.
Lingmerth holds two-stroke lead
POTOMAC, Md.— David Lingmerth knows he won’t have to shoot 20-under par for theweek 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, the winner of a Web.com Tour eventonthe punishing Washington-area layout in 2012, shot his second straight 5-under 65 on Friday to extend his lead totwo shots over Geoff Ogilvy.
Lingmerth used his reliable fade off the tee to avoid trouble and setupbirdie opportunities. He has gone 34 straight holes without a bogey. His final fade of the day was possibly his best, a 6-ironfrom177 yards thathe held up against the wind on the par-4 18th. It finished 7 feet from the hole, leading to birdie.
Several players said before the tournament that 10 under might be good enough to win. Lingmerth’s winning score five years ago was 8 under.
Daniel Summerhays shot 68 and was alone in third, four shots back. Sung Kang, who shot 69 amid tougher conditions in the afternoon, was five shots back along withArjunAtwal (67).