Pettersen takes lead at wind-delayed ANA Inspiration
RANCHO MIRAGE >> While the entire field at the ANA Inspiration spent the whole day playing catch-up, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and the Korda sisters managed to get ahead.
Pettersen finished her wind-delayed first round with a 4-under 68 and added a second-round 69 Friday, taking a one-shot lead over rookie Nelly Korda and five other players after two shortened days at the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.
After an early end to Thursday’s play and a late start on Friday for cleanup from the windstorm, play was halted by darkness with 56 players still on the course. They will complete their second rounds Saturday morning.
“Towards the end of my second round, I was getting a little tired,” said world No. 1 Lydia Ko, who sat three shots off the lead at 4-under 140 after playing 31 holes Friday. “I played 31 holes in Thailand a few weeks ago, so compared to that, this is nothing. That week was a lot of undulation plus a lot of heat. ... But it’s been such a long day, and I’m craving some sleep.”
Korda, Inbee Park, Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr, France’s Karine Icher and Minjee Lee were all one stroke behind Pettersen when play was halted, but Wie and Icher hadn’t completed their second round.
Nelly Korda shot a pair of 69s to climb onto the leaderboard in her first major as a professional. The 18-yearold’s big sister, 24-year-old Jessica, also is in the hunt at 3-under 141.
Pettersen, a two-time major champion, capped her impressive day with a long putt for birdie on her final hole. She is feasting on the Mission Hills Country Club’s par-5s, getting three birdies on the course’s three longest holes in each of her rounds.
“I played fantastic golf all day,” Pettersen said. “You’ve got to be in the mood to fight if you’re a little bit out of position, so I did.”
The first round on Thursday was halted several hours early by 40mph winds that whipped across the Coachella Valley until midnight.
Workers were quick, but the cleanup forced a 90-minute delay to the planned start of Friday’s play. At least the wind largely calmed down and left cooler temperatures at a tournament frequently played in a stifling dry heat.
Kang shoots 63, sets Houston 36-hole record
HUMBLE,TEXAS>> Sung Kang shot a 9-under 63 to take a six-shot lead in a record-breaking second round at the Houston Open on Friday.
After shooting a 65 on Thursday, Kang was at 16-under 128 through two rounds, setting the 36-hole tournament record of 129 by a stroke, set previously by Blaine McCallister in 1993 and Curtis Strange in 1980.
The 29-year-old South Korean, who entered the week ranked No. 202 in the world, bested the tourna- ment course record at the Golf Club of Houston by three strokes, topping Johnson Wagner’s 132 in 2008.
Durant shoots 6-under 66 to take lead at Fallen Oak
BILOXI, MISS. >> Joe Durant shot a 6-under 66 for a one-shot lead after the first round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on Friday.
Durant made four birdies on the back nine in warm and sunny conditions to finish just ahead of defending tournament champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, Scott Hoch, Lee Janzen and Jay Haas, who are all tied for second after shooting a 67.
Durant’s impressive first round continues a solid start to his PGA Champions Tour season.