LONDON, Ontario (AP) — So Yeon Ryu used a second straight bogey-free round to pull away at the Canadian Women’s Open.
Ryu shot a 6-under 66 Friday at the London Hunt and Country Club to get to 15 under, the best two-round start in the tournament’s history. She was five strokes ahead of fellow South Korean Na Yeon Choi, playing partner Anna Nordqvist and Danielle Kang.
“A lot of birdies is still a good sign, but no bogeys is more (of) a great sign because it means I play really consistent and when I was in trouble I handled it pretty well,” she said. “That’s my goal. I aim for the bogey-free round all four days.”
If Ryu keeps it up over the weekend, she’ll have a good chance at winning her first tournament since the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic in 2012. With eight top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for fifth at the U.S. Women’s Open, she hasn’t been far off.
Despite her victory drought, Ryu tries not to complain or worry.
“I’m happy to be just travelling all around the world,” she said. “I’m really happy to show my golf swing and my golf game to all golf fans. The thing is to not really think about the result thing. I’m playing golf and I’m happy.”
Ryu “absolutely” is happier when playing the kind of golf she has over the past couple of days.
“So Yeon is probably making everything she looks at,” said Cristie Kerr who shot a 4-under 68 Friday to get to 9 under. She was the champion the previous time this tournament was in London in 2006.
American Brittany Lincicome, who was a runner-up to Inbee Park at last week’s LPGA Championship, had the best round of the day with a 65 to move to 8 under. Lincicome said her confidence level was “really high.”
“I felt really confident when I stepped on the first hole,” she said. “It was a very smooth day and it was nice to get some putts to fall.”
Joining Lincicome at 8 under were Lizette Salas, Lindsey Wright, Mi Hyang Lee and Xi Yu Lin.
One of the last players to tee off Friday, Kang saw Ryu’s 15 under and didn’t let it bother her. Instead, she watched the leaderboard with delight thinking about what she can do on this course.
“That tells me that there are birdies out there,” said Kang, who borrowed defending champion and friend Lydia Ko’s ball marker after forgetting her own. “You just got to go by the scoreboard, the scoreboard tells you everything you need to know.”
Like a lot of players, Choi wasn’t focused on others’ performances before she teed off. The 2012 U.S. Women’s Open champion also took a different approach Thursday night after shooting a 64.
Choi stressed about her driver after shooting a 70 Friday to tie Nordqvist for second. It’s her hope that fixing a left hook in her swing can help her stay in the hunt.
Kang, a 21-year-old from San Francisco, is in contention and feeling confident going into the weekend.
“There’s a lot of people contending, and there’s a lot of birdies out there and everyone’s shooting low, so you’ve just got to keep making birdies,” she said.
Note: American Jessica Korda had a hole in one on the eighth, drilling an 8 iron from 147 yards from the tee. She shot a 70 to get to 4 under through two rounds.
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