By: Max Bechtoldt
It seemed near impossible that anyone in the afternoon wave would be able to touch Nelly Korda’s -8 score, but that nobody came close was a bit of a surprise.
Ruoning Yin seemed to be the best candidate, yet her game stalled throughout much of Friday’s round. Coming into the day at -4 and in a tie for second place, she shot even par and not sits in fourth place. Yin had three birdies and three bogeys throughout her round and saw a putter go a bit cold.
She wasn’t the only one who struggled on the greens, as round one solo leader Charley Hull had 36 on her round. Thankfully for Hull, she hit 17 greens and managed an even par score to be in a tie for second. Hull played alongside Korda and Lilia Vu, who is also at -5. Vu shot -2 for her second round and kept the ball in play hitting 14 fairways and 15 greens.
Remarkably, four of the five amateurs in the field made the cut, setting up a fun race for low am honors. Leading the pack is Sweden’s Louise Rydqvist, who plays her college golf at South Carolina. Rydqvist is in a tie for fifth, one stroke ahead of Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion Lottie Woad of England.
Vu and Korda will be the final group out on Saturday, marking the rare time we have the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world playing together in the last group on the weekend in a major.
