Steady Phatlum takes one-shot lead at Women’s British Open
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Pornanong Phatlum is standing out at the Women’s British Open for more than just her pink golf ball.
The 97th-ranked player has yet to bogey in two straight rounds of 5-under-par 67 that gave her a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the year’s fourth major.
While first-round leader Minjee Lee and Mamiko Higa encountered problems down the stretch at a rainy Royal Lytham to give up two-shot leads Friday, Pornanong played a steady hand and put her pink ball in all the right places — out of the many bunkers that define the course.
The 28-year-old Thai missed a 10-foot putt for birdie in front of the clubhouse on the 18th green, but that didn’t get her down. She was 10 under overall.
“I’ve had a game plan,” Pornanong said. “I try to plan every shot, every hole.”
In a three-way tie for second place at 9 under is Lee, who was at 12 under before she doublebogeyed No. 16 and dropped another shot at No. 17 to post a 70.
Home favorite Georgia Hall (68) was in the tie for second place along with Higa, who was leading by two strokes at 11 under when she lost her ball in a gorse bush on No. 17 and wound up with a doublebogey 6.
Top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn was seven shots back after rounds of 71 and 70.
PGA TOUR: Aaron Baddeley took advantage of Ollie Schniederjans’ late double bogey to take the lead in the Barracuda Championship, a modified Stableford scoring event. Baddeley had six birdies in a bogey-free round in Reno, Nevada, scoring 12 points under the format that awards eight points for albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par, and subtracts a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse. The Australian had a 26-point total for a one-point lead over Schniederjans. CHAMPIONS TOUR: Jerry Smith made three late birdies to shoot a bogeyfree 8-under 64 and take a two-shot lead at the 3M Championship in Blaine, Minnesota. Kenny Perry, Lee Janzen, Peter Lonard and Glen Day were two strokes back. Lonard, who was added to the field on Tuesday, made a hole-inone on the 177-yard fourth. Janzen and Perry eagled the par-5 18th. PGA EUROPEAN TOUR: Ben Campbell shot a 6-under 66 to take a four-stroke lead after two rounds of the Fiji International in Sigatoka. Campbell is 11-under overall, four ahead of Andrew Dodt, who shot a 70 at Natadola Bay. Five shots back are Jarryd Felton (71) and Terry Pilkadaris (68). Ernie Els shot a 2-under 70 and is in a tie for 20th place.