By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Yuka Saso sizzled with a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 to propel to joint sixth place after two rounds in the LPGA Ford Championship in Arizona on Friday, March 29.
After shooting an opening round 70 that put her at the crowded 61st place, the Fil-Japanese found her fiery form and shot nine birdies including four straight from the 11th hole to card nines of 31 and 32 and post a two-round total of 133.
The Bulacan-born Saso, who shared a similar aggregate with Lydia Ko, Caroline Masson and Pajaree Anannarukarn, trailed solo leader Hannah Green of Australia by three strokes.
Green went from under the weather to on top of the leaderboard after reeling off six straight birdies to cap an 11-under-par 61 and a 130 total.
“I wasn’t really feeling that great overnight. Kind of have a bit of a runny nose and sore throat, so wasn’t expecting that much which is maybe a good thing,” said Green, who would go on to flip the script at Seville Golf and Country Club, where she’s in search of her second title of the month.
“I missed a short putt on the first and I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s fine. I really took advantage of the shorter holes we had. I also holed a couple really long putts … Just had a really nice morning.”
Green, who rattled in a 30-foot birdie to win the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore by one stroke earlier this month, hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts as she built a 36-hole total of 14-under 130.
She had a one-stroke lead over American Sarah Schmelzel and Taiwan’s Chien Peiyun.
Schmelzel had nine birdies in a sparkling nine-under 63 while Chien posted a five-under 65 to reach 131. It was another stroke back to South Korean Kim Hyo-joo and Spain’s Azahara Munoz on 132.
After four birdies on the front nine, Green opened the back with a birdie at the 10th, then birdied her last six holes — from the 13th through the 18th — to post a new career low on the LPGA.
It could have been even lower, but her eagle putt at the 18th lipped out and left her a tap-in for birdie.
Meanwhile, Bianca Pagdanganan missed the cut by one shot despite carding a bogey-free 66 for 140.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympian tried to make up from a first-round 74 by posting six birdies, but was not enough to keep her in contention. (With reports from AFP)
