England’s Charley Hull is all smiles after successfully converting her attempt from a greenside bunker at hole 17 on day two of the AIG Women’s Open at the Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club on Friday. Image courtesy ladieseuropeantour.com.
By Rahul Banerji
Haeran Ryu lined up a shot at her third successive major championship title with the day two lead of the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes in England on Friday.
The Indian challenge though came to an end after Diksha Dagar plummeted out of contention after sharing eighth place overnight, and Aditi Ashok unable to make the cut line as well.
Diksha followed her opening 2 under par 69 with a 7 over 78 that had eight bogies against a lone birdie to finish on 5 over 147 alongside Aditi (74-73) who had three dropped shots against one gain.
The duo missed the guillotine that fell at 4 over 146 by one shot as 68 others progressed into the weekend rounds.
Ryu returned a 2 under 69 after an opening 65 to hold a one-stroke lead at the midway mark despite a bogey and a double by the fifth hole.
However, birdies on holes seven, nine and 10 helped put her round back on track for a two-day total of 7 under 135, a stroke ahead of Japan’s Shiho Kuwaki (66-70, 136).
Closing in
Ryu, who already has the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship in her bag, added further gains on 15 and 18 to seal her place atop of the leaderboard.
“I’m just trying to have fun on the course because this course is stressful, there are a lot of bunkers and the greens are tough and then it’s windy too,” Ryu said on the Ladies European Tour website.
“I have played golf for almost 15 years, so I think I learned a lot for (being in) the good position.
“That’s why these days I’m pretty calm and happy on the golf course. I don’t want to focus on other players; I just keep thinking about my golf and the golf course.
“There are a lot of great players in here, so that’s why I just want to think about my golf because this is a major, nobody knows what comes up.
“Tomorrow I just want to be happy with my play and think about my swing.”
Kuwaki was second after a 1 under round that included four birdies and three bogeys.
Slow start
“I got off to a slow start with a bogey, but I bounced back with three straight birdies after that. From there, I was able to settle in and play with the same mindset I had yesterday,” said the Japanese.
“As the round went on, the wind made it difficult to control my pace on the greens. Especially on the back nine, I wasn’t able to convert a few putts that I felt I should have made.
“I’ll work on the areas that need to be cleaned up and try to play with the same rhythm and tempo tomorrow.”
Overnight leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and American Yealimi Noh were joint third on 5 under 137 after returning 73 and 70 respectively.
Five-time LET winner Thitikul had one birdie and three bogeys on her card while Noh balanced four birdies against one bogey and a double.
Korea’s Soo Bin Joo was sole fifth on 3 under 138 after a second round 69 while eight others were tied for sixth place including home favourites Charley Hull and Lottie Woad.
Holing out
Hull had an even par round on day two but one of her highlights was a hole-out from the bunker on 17.
“I had a couple of good bunker shots today, but that one I just had to splash it out and get it rolling on the green,” Hull said later.
“It was nice to hole it. The wind was in quite a different direction today, so it made it a bit trickier.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be loads of fun. I feel like now my nerves have settled down.
“My back was actually playing up for me a little bit today, I was a little bit sore, that’s why I think I wasn’t getting through the ball how I wanted to.”
Also read: Diksha Dagar in top 10 after round one of AIG Women’s Open
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