Championships - RICOH Women's British Open 2008
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01.08.2008
Fudoh and Shin Lead Going in to the Weekend
Japan’s Yuri Fudoh and Korea’s Ji Yai Shin led a massed Asian charge during the second round of the Ricoh Women’s British Open over the Old Course at Sunningdale.Fudoh and Shin both carded second round scores of four under par 68 to tie the Championship 36-hole record on ten under par 134 and go into the third round one shot ahead of first leader, America’s Juli Inkster.
Another American, Christie Kerr, returned a best of the day 65 to share fourth place with Korea’s Bo Bae Song on eight under par 136 while defending champion, Lorena Ochoa, America’s Natalie Gulbis and Japan’s Ai Miyazato are all one shot further back on 137.
Thirty three Koreans and six Japanese teed up this week at Sunningdale and at the end of the second round a total of eleven of those players occupied places within the top-20 on the leaderboard heading into the weekend. Nor, it should be said, was there much surprise at this development. To date this year, two Majors, the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and the US Women’s Open have been won by Asians, Taiwan’s Yani Tseng and Korea’s Inbee Park, and, since the latter was staged a month ago, two of the last four regular LPGA Tour titles have also gone to Korean golfers.
This week it is the turn of Fudoh and Shin to set the pace, although both will be anxiously looking over their shoulders at World No. 1, Ochoa, who won the Ricoh Women’s British Open 12 months ago and who tops this year’s LPGA money list having secured six victories to date.
Neither Fudoh nor Shin currently play in America but both are regular winners nearer to home. The former claimed her 40th Japanese LPGA title when she won last year’s Yonex Ladies’ title and seems to have acclimatised herself to the blustery English conditions with considerable ease.
She opened with a six under par 66 and then added a 68 that included an eagle three on the 459-yard par-5 10th where she hit a 7-wood a total of 215-yards to within three feet of the hole. Now, like many of her colleagues, she plans to do nothing more play one shot at a time and see what happens. Along the way, she will also be aided and abetted by experienced caddie, Peter Coleman, formerly the bag man for Bernhard Langer and Seve Ballesteros among others, and who would register his 60th victory were his charge to win on Sunday night.
Shin, like Fudoh, is a stalwart on the Japanese LPGA Tour where she won no less than nine times during 2007. This year, she has notched a further three victories to date which is why, almost unnoticed, she has risen to No. 10 on the Rolex World Ranking.
The diminutive Shin bases her game on accuracy and nowhere was that more apparent than on the 459-yard par-5 tenth where she hit a 4-iron to four feet. It was, she said “as easy eagle” and golf as a whole must be a straightforward game if, as she has done over the first two rounds, you can hit all but three fairways from the tee.
The best chance for an American victory might still lie with veteran, Juli Inkster, the first round leader and the oldest player in the field. She added a battling 70 to her opening 65 to claim third place ahead of compatriot, Kerr and Bo Bae Song.
“It was a lot harder (than yesterday),” said the 48 year-old mother of two. “Basically, I drove the ball pretty good again today. I hit a few wayward iron shots, a couple of flare-outs to the right but, overall, I hit a lot of good, solid shots.”
Meanwhile another American, Laura Diaz, produced the most remarkable round of the day carding a level par 72 that included no less than three eagles. That tied an LPGA record, set by her compatriot Alice Ritzman at the 1978 Colgate European Open at Sunningdale, and helped her to finish the day in the group tied in ninth place at six under par 138.
The American’s first eagle came at the 485-yard par-5 first where she hit an 18-degree rescue club to about 3-feet. It was the second day-a-row she had carded a three on that hole and she added to that tally with further back-to-back eagles on the 459-yard par-5 tenth and the 322-yard par-4 11th.
“When the first one went in (husband and caddie) Kevin and I were quite even about it but when I made the second with a really good putt we started to get excited,” she said.
“The third was a bit different,” she added. “I had 64 yards to the flag and I wanted to hit it into the bank in front of the green. But I hit it a bit hard so I guess it must have hit the flag and dropped in.”
At the other end of the leaderboard 2005 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion Jeong Jang’s tournament came to an abrupt end when she retired after 31 holes suffering from an injured right wrist.
However, there was better news for former World No. 1, Annika Sorenstam, who is playing her last Major Championship before retiring from competitive golf at the end of the season. She opened with a level par 72 and repeated that score in the second round to make the cut on level par 144.
It was an even closer shave for another former champion, Laura Davies, who finished her second round with a seven on the par-4 17th and a five on the on the last but squeaked through to the weekend with nothing to spare on one over par 145. Last week’s Evian Masters winner, Helen Alfredsson also made it through on that mark, as did Scots, Janice Moodie and Mhairi McKay.
Two amateurs made the cut, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, the 2008 Ladies’ British Amateur champion who carded a 73 for a one-under par aggregate of 143 and her American counterpart Marie Jose Uribe who was one shot further back after carding the same second round score. Both will now battle it out for the Smyth Salver, awarded to the leading amateur in the field.
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