WEST CALDWELL – After two days of play, the defending champion finds herself back on top of the standings at the 2026 Mizuho Americas Open at Mountain Ridge Country Club.
Jeeno Thitikul recorded a 3-under-par 69 on Friday to head into the weekend at -8 for the tournament and take a three-stroke lead over Jennifer Kupcho.
However, while she ended the day in the lead, it was not an easy round for Thitikul as the wind played a major factor for the second day in a row.
“I didn’t do it well when the wind really picking up in the beginning,” Thitikul said of the blustery conditions, adding, “I mean, luckily we don’t have much wind on the back nine after the rain came and then the wind just like shut down. Then we just lucky. If we got the breeze the front nine, I don’t think my number is going to be that low for sure.”
Thitikul’s scorecard backed up her assessment of her round on Friday. Beginning on the back nine, Thitikul bogeyed holes 12 and 18, while birdying hole 17 to drop a stroke after nine. However, she more than made up for it on the front nine, carding birdies on holes one, three, four, six, and eight, while only bogeying hole two.
Kupcho concurred with Thitikul saying of her round, “Yeah, I think early this morning on the front nine, there was definitely a lot less wind, hardly any at all, really. It was a lot easier to get closer to the pins and honestly just be a little bit more aggressive with the putts.”
Kupcho continued, “Come the back nine when it was windy, as it is right now, I think you kind of have to be a little bit careful not to putt to, say, ten feet by or more or even off the green. The greens are really fast, so you just have to think about it and just be careful about what you’re doing.”
Also, much like Thitikul, Kupcho carded two bogies Friday, to go with six birdies to finish her round with a 3-under 69 and -5 for the first two rounds of the tournament.
Brooke Matthews sits in third after the second round, shooting an even par 72 to stay at -4 for the tournament.
As if the wind was not enough of a challenge for the golfers this weekend, heavy rain is in the forecast for Saturday, adding yet another element for the field at Mountain Ridge to contend with this weekend.
Deng in Third After Day Two to Lead Garden State Junior Trio
Short Hills’ Aphrodite Deng leads the New Jersey trio of golfers on the junior side after two days of the Mizuho Americas Open. She currently sits in third place, eight points behind the leader, Amelie Zalsman.
Deng carded five bogies, 10 pars, and three birdies to score 34 points on Friday, bringing her total for the tournament to 70.
Rayee Feng, also from Short Hills, is in ninth place overall after Friday’s round, while Kendall Park’s Vidhi Lakhawala sits in a tie for 12th. Feng scored 34 points on Friday to bring her tournament total to 67, and Lakhawala recorded 33 points to bring her tournament total to 64.
The 2026 Mizuho Americas Open continues Saturday with golfers teeing off at 7:30 a.m. For those wishing to stay dry, the action can be caught live on CNBC from noon to 3:30 p.m.
For more scenes from the second round, view more of Christopher Shannon’s photos in our photo gallery.
