JERSEY CITY – It was a soggy day at Liberty National Golf Club for the second day of the Mizuho Americas Open, and whoever handled the weather the best was most likely going to find themselves on top of the leaderboard after Friday’s round in Jersey City.
Three golfers, Nelly Korda, Andrea Lee, and Somi Lee, each went into the clubhouse with identical, 36-hole scores of -8. At the same time, day one leader Jeeno Thitikul could only muster a Friday score of +1 after a very promising start to her round, to fall one stroke off the lead.
Somi Lee was probably the biggest surprise of the day. After sitting in a tie for 24th with a -3 after the first day of play, Somi was able to overcome two bogies on holes seven and eight with seven birdies on holes two, six, 10, 12, 13, 16, and 17 to finish her day with a 5-under-par 67.
“In the beginning, my shots were good, so I was able to make chances for myself, so that was a relief,” Somi said of her performance Friday. “Yesterday, my putting was so bad, so I practiced putting for two hours, and I think the practice really came out in my first half, so I was thankful.” She added, however, “But, I do have a bit of regret in my second half, so I am about to go and practice.”
Korda did what she’s been doing all year up to this point. The LPGA’s round two scoring average leader, once again, turned in a good second round. Like Somi, Korda also had consecutive bogies, but she too was able to overcome the blemishes with six birdies of her own to finish day two with a 4-under 68.
“Yeah, just have to really dial into everything that you’re doing in these conditions with it kind of being on and off rain and getting colder and some wind,” Korda said of her second-round performance. “So you just have to really dial in, which we did a really good job with that.”
And, with regards to making two bogies in a row, Korda stated, “Yeah, after making two bogeys in a row, you have to reset and just know that you have nine more holes to go and there is some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions. So just had a little bit of a mental reset and it worked.”
Finally, Andrea Lee was the lone golfer in the trio of leaders to manage a bogey-free round. Coming into Friday with a first-round score of -4, Andrea tallied four birdies, including three in a four-hole stretch, on Friday to finish day two with another 4-under-par 68.
“Yeah, I mean, I was kind of mentally preparing for the worst today. The radar didn’t look great for the rain, and it was dumping on us pretty hard for probably about 12, 13 holes, honestly,” Andrea said of her round. “So I knew that I just had to stay really patient out there, know that fairways and greens and pars were a good score, and stay really positive. So hung in there and just really satisfied with the way I played.”
Jersey’s Deng Claims Share of Lead After Day Two of AJGA Tournament
On the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) side of the tournament, the Garden State’s own Aphrodite Deng scored 32 points to rally from tied for 13th after day one to finishing day two in a tie for first with 71 total points through 36 holes. Deng notched four birdies and only one bogey on Friday compared to the six bogies and only two birdies she recorded on Thursday.
“I’m feeling good going into the round tomorrow,” Deng said after her round. “It’s exciting to get to play with the LPGA players, and after playing in this event last year, I feel like I know how to play the course.”
Sitting in first with Deng is Alice Ziyi Zhao, who had a rally of her own, scoring 41 points on day two compared to only 30 on day one.
Rounding out the top-3 on the junior side of the tournament, Kinsley (Zixin) Ni and Lily Peng sit in a tie for third, one point behind Deng and Zhao.
The Mizuho Americas Open continues Saturday with the first golfers set to tee off at 9:09 a.m.
