Lydia Ko – file photo Getty / LPGA
Close friends, Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang share the lead through 36 holes of the Gainbridge LPGA Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Florida, the pair opening up a four-shot gap over England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Japan’s Yuka Saso.
Ko, who finished runner-up to Nelly Korda in this event twelve months ago, albeit at another venue, was unable to match the brilliance of her opening round of 63 but she did enough with her round of 70 to share the lead with Kang who was round in 68 today.
Ko explained the golf course player significantly more difficult today.
“I think the temperature was kind of a big thing. Par-5s that played pretty short yesterday, played like a completely different hole. Yesterday I hit driver 3-wood and a little flick wedge into 10, and today it was like a low driver, 3-wood, and like an 8-iron.
“So it just shows how much the weather and the conditions can make the golf course play so differently. It was a little bit more of a grind. I don’t think I was as sharp as yesterday.”
A new putter in the bag appears to be doing the trick for the still only 24 year old New Zealander.
“Last week was a bit of a struggle on the greens, and considering I play out at Lake Nona, you would think I would read it a lot better.
“I actually brought out a new putter this week. It’s called The Catch, so I was like, Oh, this putter is a catch. Kind of seeing something new sometimes I feel like it brings a little bit of a different energy.
“To kind of have putted well yesterday I thought it was a good to debut for the putter. At the end of the day all I can do is put a good roll on it. If it goes in, great; if not, you’re onto the next.”
The weather is expected to get even cooler over the weekend and Ko is prepared for it.
“I’m like a Florida resident and last week was cold and this weekend is going to be cold again. You know it’s cold when they’ve run out of hand warmers at the nearest supermarket.
“Everybody is going to play in pretty much similar conditions. It’s not like it’s going to be extra cold for people that tee off a little bit earlier and not so much in the afternoon. Yes, there is a little bit of a difference, but it’s not going to be miles different.
“You just have to play with the conditions that you get. Luckily for us I got to practice playing in four, five layers of clothing last week. That will kind of be the go-to goal tomorrow as well.”
Su Oh, fresh from her win at the WAPGA event in Brisbane two weeks ago, is nicely placed in a share of 10th while the only other Australian to make the cut was the 47-year-old and arguably Australia’s greatest ever player, Karrie Webb.
“Webb was delighted just to be back playing again and happy with the way she has played to date in her first LPGA Tour event since November of 2020.
“Yeah, I think coming out here this week, I guess it feels a lot like coming home. You had this life and this routine for over 20 years, 25 years, so you pick up where you left off pretty quickly.
“It feels comfortable, and it’s great to see a lot of friends that I haven’t seen for a long time and catch up with them. The banter back and forth and the caddies and some of the players, I do really miss that, so that’s been fun this week.
“I felt like I played pretty well for the two days. Didn’t make a lot putts, but for not having played a tournament for such a long time, it’s nice to be in the action on the weekend.
“I’ve lived down here for 23, 24 years now, so I guess I feel like a local as much as you can in Florida. Yeah, no, it’s nice. Been a nice turnout, and it’s been nice that everyone has appreciated that I’ve shown up to play. It’s made me feel special for sure.
Karrie Webb file photo – Henry Peters
Oh played with Webb today which given her win in the inaugural Karrie Webb Cup at Royal Queensland recently was perhaps fitting and Oh was singing the praises of her idol.
“I think she just gives back like so much. She really gives back to the people that are up and coming. There is not many people who would bring two girls, even when she was still like playing full time like to the U.S. Open when she’s probably like super stressed as well.
“Just to give the younger generation a chance at what she thinks is the pinnacle of golf. So it’s a gift for us to like experience that and be like a motivation for us when we turn pro, and hopefully make it out here.
“She’s hitting it so good at the moment. Not good for her standard, but she’s still ripping it. I love the way she hits her irons. It’s probably one of my favorites. Like so good, so high. Yeah, it’s nice.
“Especially when it’s so muddy as well. She’s just like clips it perfect and it goes very high. Very envious of her ball flight.”
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Victorian Open fields reflect event’s popularity
The 13th Beach golfing facility on the Bellarine Peninsula – photo PGA of Australia
The Vic Open has become one of the mainstays of the PGA Tour of Australasia in recent years, the event now considered one of the most popular on the Australasian professional golfing scene for both men and women.
That the event is attractive to both genders is a reflection on a decision made several years ago to stage both the women’s and men’s Victorian Open concurrently at the one venue and the concept has proven to be a winner.
The complications surrounding Covid 19 have impacted the event to the point that it is now no longer a European or LPGA Tour event as it had been in recent years but with Hannah Green, Su Oh, Stephanie Kyraciou and Karis Davidson in the women’s field the LPGA Tour is well represented.
The men might not boast any current DP World (European Tour) representatives as such, but with the likes of recent winners, Anthony Quayle, Jed Morgan, Todd Sinnott, the consistent Brad Kennedy and Louis Dobbelaar and in form Andrew Dodt in the field, there is plenty of interest in an event that carries $410,000 for either event.
Green will play her first event of 2022 and will start as the favourite in the women’s field although recent WPGA winner in Brisbane, Su Oh, who finished midfield in Florida last week and who must be congratulated for rushing back for her home state open is likely to give Green plenty to think about.
Kyriacou was unable to play the WPGA Championship in Brisbane due to Covid but her season on the Ladies European Tour last year where she finished 3rd on that order of Merit set her up to gain LPGA Tour status in 2022.
Adding further to the appeal of the men’s event is that three Open Championship starts are up for grabs to the leading three players this week and not otherwise exempt for the 2022 Open Championship. With the cancellation of the New Zealand Open due to Covid restrictions, those exemptions were transferred to the Vic Open.
Can the field’s highest ranked male player Jed Morgan reproduce his stunning Aust PGA form – photo Bruce Young
Amongst the men, Morgan, Kennedy, Dobbelaar, Dodt and Travis Smyth have also made a rushed trip back to Victoria after playing in Saudi Arabia last week, Kennedy finishing 14th in that lucrative event, but Dobbelaar and Dodt also had good week’s, Dobbelaar continuing an impressive start to his professional career which began only a couple of months ago.
Quayle finished 6th at the Australian PGA Championship, then won the Queensland Open before finishing runner-up at the TPS Victoria last week so there is no doubting his current form and he might do well again.
The Creek and Ocean Courses at 13th Beach on the Bellarine Peninsula plays host to the event, the extra capacity of 36 holes allowing 142 men and 72 women to tee it up over the opening two days.
Recent WPGA winner Su Oh back from Florida to play her State Open – Bruce Young
Dramatic win for Harold Varner, Cameron Smith shares 4th
Harold Varner reacts to his monstrous winning eagle putt at the 72nd hole photo Paul Lakatos
Cameron Smith has finished in a share of 4th place and four from the winner, Harold Varner 111 at the inaugural Asian Tour’s staging of the PIF Saudi International at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in the King Abdullah Economic City in Saudi Arabia.
Smith’s final round of 69 earned him US$217,000 in addition to what no doubt would have been a substantial appearance cheque, but it also continued a start to the year which included a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, one of just three starts to date in 2022.
“It was really solid,” said Smith when asked to reflect on his play for the week. “I just struggled on the greens all week. I felt as though I was hitting good putts, and I just couldn’t get them to drop this week. A bit disappointing that I came pretty close, but it is what it is. It’s golf.
“I loved it (here). The course is great. It’s tough. When the wind gets up, it’s really tough. There’s a couple of greens out here that get a bit dicey with that wind. I loved the week. I loved the people here. It’s been great.”
Smith will take next week off before reappearing at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
“I guess just knowing my game’s in the right spot,” he added. “I’ll have a week off next week and recharge at home and get ready for L.A.”
Varner 111 won the event by holing a 90 feet putt at the 72nd hole after the man he defeated by a shot, Bubba Watson, had also eagled the last from 15 feet just 30 minutes earlier.
For Varner it was just his second win as a professional the only other coming on the Gold Coast of Australia when winning the 2016 Australian PGA Championship, at that stage an Australasian and European Tour event.
Varner was questioned why he had not been able to win as often as his win in Australia suggested he might.
“I can answer this so easily. I’ve never questioned my ability. The only people that question it are the people that sit right in here, and they’re like, man, he needs to be winning. But I don’t march to anyone’s beat in here. I do what I’m supposed to do, and things come.
“Life happened. My wife, my girlfriend at the time, her brother died a week after that and we were celebrating. Things that I wasn’t ready to be a man about. I can sit here and tell you like I just didn’t know how to handle it because, I don’t know, I think it’s a hard thing to deal with. Those things get in the way of just focusing on golf.
“When you’re a kid and there’s nothing else to do, it’s only golf. No, I wouldn’t change a thing. How cool is that? It hasn’t happened in a long time, and the way it happened right there, it’s frickin’ awesome. I could say something else, but I can’t say that here.”
Other Australians in the field included Brad Kennedy 14th ($US68,500), Wade Ormsby 18th (US$57,000), Lucas Herbert 21st (US$52,000) Marc Leishman 28th (US$38,000), Andrew Dodt 45th (US$24,600) and Andrew Dodt and New Zealander Daniel Hillier 55th (US$17,750 each).
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Todd Sinnott claims second professional title at Rosebud
Todd Sinnott – after a horror run of injury and illness the former impressive amateur wins again
29-year-old Victorian, Todd Sinnott, has won his second title as a professional with a one shot win over Anthony Quayle and Daniel Gale in the PGA Tour of Australasia’s TPS Victoria event at the Rosebud Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula.
Sinnott began the final round tied in the lead with veteran Richard Green but at one stage actually fell three shots behind the lead which was then held by recent Queensland PGA Champion Anthony Quayle.
Quayle moved to 6 under par through 10 holes of his final round and actually led by three but mistakes from the tee at the 15th and 17th holes along with a missed five foot birdie putt at the last would cost him a chance of back to back wins.
Three birdies in four holes while Quayle was dropping shots took Sinnott to the lead and an impressive two putt from 70 feet or so at the last secured Sinnott his first win since the 2017 Myanmar Open, a victory which also earned him the right to play the Japan Tour as that event was jointly sanctioned between the Asian and Japan Tours.
Injury (back) and issues surrounding Covid have curtailed the progress of the long hitting Sinnott over the last two years but at his best he was one of Australia’s better amateurs before turning professional, and now he appears to be playing injury free, his professional career is building momentum.
Quayle’s share of runner-up place with the man he edged out at the recent Queensland PGA Championship in Brisbane, Daniel Gale, moved him into third place behind Jed Morgan and Andrew Dodt on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit, the significance of that being that the leading three players at season’s end will secure playing rights to the DP World (European Tour in 2023.
Sinnott was clearly delighted to have survived the demands of the last two years and his return to the winner’s circle which many felt might have come earlier given the encouraging start he made to his professional career
“I’m not going to lie, it was really, really hard,” he said after the win referring to his difficult times over the last two years. “But I have a belief and I practise my butt off. My coach Denis (McDade), I don’t think I’d be here without his help. I honestly don’t believe I’d be here. I think we can go places together.”
Sinnott will improve his world ranking from just outside the top 800 to just outside the top 500.
Welsh golfer Lydia Hall led the women’s event while 17 year old Michael Song won the junior event played in conjunction with the main championship.
Lydia Hall of Wales – won the women’s title – photo PGA of Australia
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Jason Day within striking distance at Pebble Beach
Jason Day – file photo – a chance to win his first PGA Tour title in more then three years
Jason Day finds himself just four from the lead after the completion of the opening 54 holes at which point the cut has been made for the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Day added a third round of 70 at his venue at Spyglass Hills today and when he returns to Pebble Beach Links for tomorrow’s final round he will be tied for 8th position in an event he has produced seven top tens in his last nine starts including a runner-up finish in 2018.
Day will need to be at his best tomorrow if he is to haul in those ahead who include Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth although the leaders at present are Beau Hossler and Andrew Putnam.
If Day is able to win tomorrow, he will move close to the top 40 in the world and given that he was 129th two weeks ago it will have been a significant move by the 34-year-old.
It reflects the work he has done on his swing as a means of alleviating the ongoing back issues he has faced through much of his career although Day is not keen to view his improvement as a comeback.
“I’m not looking at it as like a comeback season, I’m just looking at it like every day what can I do to try to get better,” he said after his second round yesterday.
“I’m super, super obsessed with the golf swing right now, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t know how to take that. But I’m always talking to my coach every day and I’m always constantly working on it.
“The good thing is I need to work on my swing because if I don’t then certain things can creep in and I can hurt my back again. So I got to always be cautious of that.”
If he was to win this week’s event it would go a long way to getting him into the Masters but Day is philosophical about the issue and is just happy that things have turned the corner.
“I know that if I can take care of this week then — like I was 123rd or 129 or something like that last week and I’m 83rd this week because of good play from last week. So I really just have to take care of the day-to-day stuff and then hopefully that turns into really good results and the confidence spurs one more good results.
“I just got to be really patient with that stuff, I know that it’s just around the corner. If do I end up taking it off because my ranking is not good enough, so be it, but I’m thinking about long-term trying to get myself climbing that ladder again. That’s the main process.
When asked why his record at this venue and in this event has been so good Day responded; “I think it’s just first and foremost it’s just having a really good attitude. Like you can get some gnarly weather here, it can be pretty hectic with 40, 45 degrees, blowing sideways, rain, and I remember a few years ago we had hail on the third tee.
“So there can be some pretty rough days, but then you have days like this where it’s, the last two days, even the next two days as well, I mean it’s just absolutely stunning. And then when you’re kind of walking out on Pebble everyone knows how beautiful it is.
“So I love Carmel by the Sea, it’s one of my favorite little towns to kind of go and visit. I just love this area. And I’ve always kind of just gravitated towards this area, especially playing. And I think I’ve taken maybe this event off a couple times or so but every single time that I don’t play I see guys playing Pebble and I’m like, I want to be out there.”
Day was the only Australian to make it to the final round with Matt Jones, Min Woo Lee, Cameron Percy, Aaron Baddeley, Brett Drewitt and John Senden, all failing to survive the 54 hole cutoff.
Day – earlier this week at Pebble Beach
Cameron Smith nicely poised in Saudi Arabia
Harold Varner 111 – joint leader by two – photo Paul Lakatos
Cameron Smith is tied for 3rd place and just two behind the lead held by Harold Varner 111 of the US and Adri Arnuas of Spain at the completion of 36 holes of the Asian Tour’s lucrative PIF Saudi International in King Abdullah Economic City, North of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Varner and Arnaus completed identical scores in the opening two rounds of 64 and 66 to lead the star studded field in the US$5 million event, the largest purse ever for a stand alone Asian Tour event.
The long hitting Arnuas, has yet to win a European Tour event but has on four occasions been runner-up and did win the Challenge Tour Grand Final in this region in 2018.
PGA Tour player, Varner, has yet to win on that stage, but was the 2016 Australian PGA Champion, the leading pair negotiating the blustery conditions best against a field which includes Dustin Johnson, Xander Scaufelle, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson to name just some of the elite field assembled for the first Asian Tour event of the 2022 season.
At the start of the day the event lost one of it’s heavyweight attractions when American Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the event with a left hand and left hip injury.
Smith completed a second consecutive round of 66 to be tied for third with American Mathew Wolff and appeared to relish the windy conditions.
“I like it windy,” said the Australian, who played on the Asian Tour in 2014, before joining the PGA Tour the following year.
“I grew up in the wind. Being from Australia, it’s something you kind of have to get used to pretty quick. Yeah, you’ve just got to strike the ball well. You’ve just got to hit it out of the middle and judge your wind.”
Of the other Australasians in the field, Wade Ormsby has also made a good start to be tied for 9th and five from the lead, Brad Kennedy and Lucas Herbert are tied for 31st, Andrew Dodt 36th, promising rookie Louis Dobbelaar 45th, and Marc Leishman 60th along with New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier.
Scott Hend, Ryan Ruffels, Jed Morgan, Travis Smyth and Ben Eccles all missed out on advancing to the weekend.
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Money speaks all languages in Saudi this week
Two months after turning professional, recent Aust PGA Champion Jed Morgan plays a US$5 million event.
The first event of the 2022 Asian Tour schedule gets underway on Thursday with the staging of the inaugural PIF Saudi International played at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in Saudi Arabia.
The tournament represents the first collaboration between the Greg Norman inspired LIV Golf Investment’s foray into golf and the Asian Tour and with a prize fund of US$5 million and a field which includes the likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson De Chambeau, Xander Schaufelle, Patrick Reed, and Phil Mickelson along with Australians, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and recently crowned Australian PGA Champion Jed Morgan, amongst others, there will ensure plenty of interest from this country and globally.
While not part of the ten event International Series announced recently and supported by this group, this particular event is being funded by the the same source and provides a whole new dynamic for the Asian Tour.
No doubt many are being paid handsomely for their participation even before the first tee shot is hit on Thursday, money appearing to be no object in a region of the world where financial largesse is common.
“We are setting the Asian Tour up as a powerful new force on the world golf stage,” said Norman. “In my 40 years as a professional golfer, I’ve seen many parts of the world that have benefitted tremendously from golf and its growth and development. We now have the opportunity to do that in the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East with this incredible investment platform. Everyone benefits – professional players, amateurs, grassroots golf, fans, economies, communities, stakeholders. I’ve never been so optimistic about the future of the sport.”
In addition to Smith, Leishman, Herbert and Morgan several other Australians and New Zealanders get their chance to play for US$5 million as members of the Asian Tour but others also have a unique opportunity to play for the sort of riches they might only have dreamed of playing for a few weeks ago.
Wade Ormsby, Andrew Dodt, Travis Smyth and Scott Hend are in the field through their Asian Tour membership but Brad Kennedy, Louis Dobbelaar, Ben Eccles, Ryan Ruffels and New Zealander Daniel Hillier get their chance through various eligibility criteria and have a rare opportunity to play against the strongest field ever assembled for an Asian Tour event and for the sort of prizemoney on offer.
Lydia Ko back where she belongs after Gainbridge win
Lydia Ko – yet another trophy photo Douglas P. DeFelice Getty / LPGA
Lydia Ko has today won her 17th LPGA Tour title with a narrow but impressive one-shot victory over her close friend, Danielle Kang, at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Boca Raton on Florida.
For Ko it was just her second LPGA Tour title since 2018 but continued a comeback from a position outside the top 50 in the world ranking eighteen months ago to the point where she is now ranked in 3rd place in the female game. The win will not improve her standing in that regard at this stage but given the manner in which she is playing and her increasing consistency she appears headed for the top once again.
Ko has previously held the top mantle for a collective 104 weeks but the last time she sat atop the ranking was back in June of 2017.
This week’s final round developed into a real shootout between the Ko and Kang, Kang over-coming a two shot 54-hole deficit to draw level with two birdies in her first three holes today and she actually took the lead in the event when birdies at the 11th and 12th saw her move one ahead.
Kang, however, would drop a shot at the 13th and when Ko birdied the 15th and 16th she went ahead and held on to win by one with another shot back to current US Women’s Open Champion Yuka Saso.
Ko and Kang – great friends – photo Getty / LPGA Douglas P. DeFelice
Ko and Kang are the closest of friends and Ko explained after her victory just why. “You know, she is obviously one of the players that I’ve known for the longest time out here. She’s kind of taken me under her wing. Even though we may not text each other every day or don’t live in the same city, I feel like she’s always got my back.
“You know, if she wants to talk to someone about anything I’m always there for her as well. There hasn’t been many times where we’ve played in the final group. I know she’s been playing such amazing golf going into today, so I just tried to focus on me and tried to play the best golf I can.
“I know at points it was a bit of a grind, but I’m glad that I could get that done.”
It is perhaps no coincidence that Ko’s turnaround has come as a result of a switch to former Tiger Woods coach Sean Foley.
“I think last year was kind of a big turnaround year for me,” added Ko. “Even the fall of 2020. When we had that long time off I think it was kind of a time for me to look back at what are the things I need to work on and just take a whole new approach to things.
“Started working with Sean, and I think he’s been a huge help in the technical standpoint getting me to a point where I feel like it’s natural and I’m not trying to make positions. At the same time, him clearing some of the questions and the not-so-good ideas in my head as well.
“So, yeah, I feel like it’s been much more consistent and last year. I feel like even though I didn’t win on the LPGA at the end of the year, I put myself in contention quite a bit.
“I think when you keep knocking on the door you feel like at one point it’s going to open.”
Ko’s earnings on the LPGA Tour have moved beyond US$12.5 million with the win, this 17th victory coming nearly ten years after playing her very first event on the LPGA Tour as an amateur. She now stands just six points short of eligibility for the Hall of Fame which still provides motivation for the 24 year old.
“You know, obviously I have to play well, win, to kind of collect those points along the way. All those awards and accolades and being in the Hall of Fame is great and not many people are there. If I could have my name alongside the many amazing legends in this the Hall of Fame, it would be a huge honour.
“I know there are still things in my game I want to improve and get better at to kind of give myself a run for it. My mom did ask me the other day, she said, Hey, what if you’re near retirement age and you’re one point off (Hall Of Fame). Are you going to keep playing? I think I just have to be realistic at that point, do I think I can get this done or not?”
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Ko’s final round highlights (click to expand)
Near miss at Torrey Pines but encouraging signs for Jason Day
Jason Day – file photo
Jason Day might not have won his third Farmers Insurance title at Torrey Pines this morning but his three-way share of third behind the eventual winner, Luke List and runner-up Will Zalatoris, will ensure the former world number one will move well inside the top 100 from his current 129th position in the world ranking, in fact he might move as high as 80th when the rankings are revised on Monday.
Day began the final day in a share of the lead with Will Zalatoris but struggled early in his round with a bogey at the 5th which, in fact, he did well to make given a poor drive found trouble and a third from 154 yards at the par 4 found the bunker.
He would then get up and down for birdie at the 9th but a bogey at the 11th had him two from the lead set by clubhouse leader, Luke List who had finished two hours earlier and Zalatoris, with whom Day was playing.
Day needed something special if he was to get back into the fray and a stunning iron from 119 yards at the 14th did the trick. The shot pitched a foot from the hole bounced ten feet past and then spun back into the hole for an unlikely eagle and he had joined the lead.
A mishit iron shot at the 16th came up well short of the green at the par 3 and he was unable to get up and down and he trailed by one. Then came a poor drive at the 17th before his approach from a difficult lie plugged in the bunker and despite a reasonable bunker shot, he was unable to hole the par save, and he head to the 18th needing an eagle to have any chance.
From a fine drive at the last, had no option to go for the green at the iconic par 5 but was long and although he produced a very impressive birdie from behind the green, he ended up one short of List and Zalatoris but tied for third with Jon Rahm and Cameron Tringale.
For Day, the great return to form is even more encouraging as next week he heads for Pebble Beach where in his last nine outings he has been inside the top 7 on seven occasions so the chances of the momentum he gained this week carrying over are even better.
“I didn’t actually feel like my swing fell down like I did the last three days, so I was just kind of sticking around like a bad smell, I guess,” said the 34 year old. “I holed a nice shot on 15. Sorry, 14.”
“Then yeah, I mean, kind of after that I lost the drive right and I started coming out of it and backing out of it and it’s really hard to trust,” he added referring to recent swing changes. “Especially when you stand up on 17, it’s hard to trust to keep turning the corner and go left when there’s all trouble left and that’s why I kind of backed out of it and hit right.
“It was a quality week though and a lot of positives moving forward. You know, this is a second tournament for me that I’ve really tried to try these swing changes (designed to relieve back issues). So, I mean, it’s great that the progress is kind of is where it is, but still a lot of work to do.
“I know that I’m heading in the right direction, and I know that the work I’ve been putting into my game is starting to pay off. Obviously if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be in that position. So, I know that things are looking up, I’ve just got to really just keep working hard.
“I’m in that stage of like trying to, you know, make these things more concrete and then if I can do that, then I’ll be in contention lot more and then the confidence comes back. Then when the confidence comes back, hopefully I win five, 10 times a year.”
Marc Leishman was the next best of the Australians when he finished tied for 16th although a bogey after finding the water at the last proved costly, while Cameron Davis was 56th.
For the 37-year-old List, who birdied the first extra hole to defeat Zalatoris, it was his first victory on the PGA Tour although he has two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour to his name and has been twice runner-up at this higher level. List also finished 10th here last year and 12th on one other occasion.
Zalatoris was also seeking a first win but the man who finished runner-up on debut at the Masters in 2021 and was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2021, missed a makeable birdie putt at the 72nd hole to win and then was unable to match List’s birdie in extra time.
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Lydia Ko shares lead in Florida – Karrie Webb makes cut
Lydia Ko – file photo Getty / LPGA
Close friends, Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang share the lead through 36 holes of the Gainbridge LPGA Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Florida, the pair opening up a four-shot gap over England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Japan’s Yuka Saso.
Ko, who finished runner-up to Nelly Korda in this event twelve months ago, albeit at another venue, was unable to match the brilliance of her opening round of 63 but she did enough with her round of 70 to share the lead with Kang who was round in 68 today.
Ko explained the golf course player significantly more difficult today.
“I think the temperature was kind of a big thing. Par-5s that played pretty short yesterday, played like a completely different hole. Yesterday I hit driver 3-wood and a little flick wedge into 10, and today it was like a low driver, 3-wood, and like an 8-iron.
“So it just shows how much the weather and the conditions can make the golf course play so differently. It was a little bit more of a grind. I don’t think I was as sharp as yesterday.”
A new putter in the bag appears to be doing the trick for the still only 24 year old New Zealander.
“Last week was a bit of a struggle on the greens, and considering I play out at Lake Nona, you would think I would read it a lot better.
“I actually brought out a new putter this week. It’s called The Catch, so I was like, Oh, this putter is a catch. Kind of seeing something new sometimes I feel like it brings a little bit of a different energy.
“To kind of have putted well yesterday I thought it was a good to debut for the putter. At the end of the day all I can do is put a good roll on it. If it goes in, great; if not, you’re onto the next.”
The weather is expected to get even cooler over the weekend and Ko is prepared for it.
“I’m like a Florida resident and last week was cold and this weekend is going to be cold again. You know it’s cold when they’ve run out of hand warmers at the nearest supermarket.
“Everybody is going to play in pretty much similar conditions. It’s not like it’s going to be extra cold for people that tee off a little bit earlier and not so much in the afternoon. Yes, there is a little bit of a difference, but it’s not going to be miles different.
“You just have to play with the conditions that you get. Luckily for us I got to practice playing in four, five layers of clothing last week. That will kind of be the go-to goal tomorrow as well.”
Su Oh, fresh from her win at the WAPGA event in Brisbane two weeks ago, is nicely placed in a share of 10th while the only other Australian to make the cut was the 47-year-old and arguably Australia’s greatest ever player, Karrie Webb.
“Webb was delighted just to be back playing again and happy with the way she has played to date in her first LPGA Tour event since November of 2020.
“Yeah, I think coming out here this week, I guess it feels a lot like coming home. You had this life and this routine for over 20 years, 25 years, so you pick up where you left off pretty quickly.
“It feels comfortable, and it’s great to see a lot of friends that I haven’t seen for a long time and catch up with them. The banter back and forth and the caddies and some of the players, I do really miss that, so that’s been fun this week.
“I felt like I played pretty well for the two days. Didn’t make a lot putts, but for not having played a tournament for such a long time, it’s nice to be in the action on the weekend.
“I’ve lived down here for 23, 24 years now, so I guess I feel like a local as much as you can in Florida. Yeah, no, it’s nice. Been a nice turnout, and it’s been nice that everyone has appreciated that I’ve shown up to play. It’s made me feel special for sure.
Karrie Webb file photo – Henry Peters
Oh played with Webb today which given her win in the inaugural Karrie Webb Cup at Royal Queensland recently was perhaps fitting and Oh was singing the praises of her idol.
“I think she just gives back like so much. She really gives back to the people that are up and coming. There is not many people who would bring two girls, even when she was still like playing full time like to the U.S. Open when she’s probably like super stressed as well.
“Just to give the younger generation a chance at what she thinks is the pinnacle of golf. So it’s a gift for us to like experience that and be like a motivation for us when we turn pro, and hopefully make it out here.
“She’s hitting it so good at the moment. Not good for her standard, but she’s still ripping it. I love the way she hits her irons. It’s probably one of my favorites. Like so good, so high. Yeah, it’s nice.
“Especially when it’s so muddy as well. She’s just like clips it perfect and it goes very high. Very envious of her ball flight.”
SCORES
Jason Day finds form at happy hunting ground
Jason Day file photo
Jason Day and Torrey Pines get along just fine and today was another example of how the Southern California layout seems to fit the eye of the man who has won two professional events, finished runner-up at another and won a World Junior title over the oceanside facility near San Diego.
So, it is no surprise that a second round of 65 over the North Course layout (one of two used on the opening two days at Torrey Pines) has allowed Day to leap into a share of 6th place at the halfway stage of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Despite a bogey at his 11th hole Day stormed home over the closing nine in 32 including a hole out for eagle at his 16th hole and a twenty-footer for birdie at the last and now finds himself four shots from the lead held by Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Adam Schenk.
Day’s injuries woes have continued to plague him of late, his world ranking now of 129 his worst in 11 years and even today he suggested after his round that he was feeling old.
“I was just telling Joaco (One of Day’s playing partners for the day, Joaquin Niemann) that I feel old.
“Just like watching him today, he hit it wonderful the last two days and for me to — I was telling him in 2016 — I used to be fast. I was telling him at U.S. Open 2016 on the range I was swinging it 127, high 80s in the ball speed. I don’t know if those days are past me, maybe they are, but it’s good to kind of keep the body in check and keep the ball out in front of myself.”
Day was asked how his start compares to those he had in his previous wins at Torrey Pines and added; “I know that I typically got off to an average start on the South and then played a really good round on the North, and then you kind of get into the weekend, you’re kind of holding on for dear life.
“Yeah, no, I don’t know where I’m at, I haven’t even checked, I haven’t even really worried about it. It’s nice to be able to get in at 9 under.”
Given Day’s season in 2021 where he recorded just two top tens in 19 PGA Tour starts this is an encouraging sign and provides hope for the weekend.
“We’re into the weekend and not too far away from the lead hopefully and just give ourselves a chance.”
Marc Leishman, also somewhat of a course specialist at Torrey Pines with a win and two runner-up finishes previously, is the next best of the Australians in 23rd place and three behind Day and Cameron Davis another two shots back in 50th place and the only other Australian to make it into the final 36 holes.