Friday, June 26, 2009

Wegmans Friday: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

What to do during the 2-hour-plus weather delay at the Wegmans? Check out the Democrat and Chronicle's live blog, the tournament's webcast (the McPherson-Lincicome-Gulbis segment was excellent, as was the Friday noon segment), and look at some scorecards.

Ji-Yai Shin joined Sandra Gal at -9 with her 2nd straight birdie of the day, while Brittany Lang has made 4 birdies in her 1st 6 holes and fought back to -3 for the tournament before the 2nd rain delay of the day (still ongoing) kicked in. Carolina Llano has made 3 birdies and no bogeys through her 1st 12 holes to fight back to E.

Right now there are 82 players at +1 or better. Hopefully we'll see major comebacks by Cristie Kerr, Seon Hwa Lee, Hee-Won Han, and Jeong Jang, all of whom tied Cheyenne Woods yesterday, when play begins again.

[Update 1 (3:54 pm): Looks like I'll be double not-quite-live-blogging this afternoon while the girls are asleep. Mina Harigae just shot a 65 on the Futures Tour, but #2 on tour Jean Reynolds is off to a hot start. At Pittsford, the afternoon groups won't start playing till 5-ish and the last players won't tee off till 7-ish, so it's looking like onechan and I will be able to see lots of Ai-chan and others tomorrow. We plan to have an early breakfast with my folks, convince them to use their free tickets and join us in the morning, then last as long as we can into the afternoon until jet lag kicks in. Maybe I'll let onechan nap near a green somewhere and watch a bunch of groups go by. Gotta study that course map!]

[Update 2 (4:13 pm): She probably won't match yesterday's closing 31 on the back today, but Michele Redman has 2 birdies in her 1st 7 holes there and has crept within 2 of the co-leaders.]

[Update 3 (4:17 pm): After 7 straight pars on the front, Mika Miyazato just birdied the par-5 8th to join Jennifer Rosales, Alena Sharp, and Sarah Kemp at -4.]

[Update 4 (4:27 pm): Ouch. Redman bogeyed the eagle-able par-5 17th to drop back to -6.]

[Update 5 (4:31 pm): Seon Hwa Lee remains at +3 after 8 straight pars on the back. She heads to the long par-4 18th, the site of her 3rd bogey of the day yesterday. She needs to get to +1 at least to make the cut. Momoko Ueda bogeyed 3 in a row on the back, then failed to birdie the 17th, to fall to +3 for the tournament, as well. But she made 2 good pars on the tough 18th and 1st holes, so here's hoping she starts putting up more circles on her scorecard. I would really love to follow her with onechan for a few holes on the weekend!]

[Update 6 (4:39 pm): Rosales birdied the par-3 7th to get to -5! Her 69 yesterday, by the way, was the first time she broke 70 all season. Same thing happened last season, too. That kick-started a run at the top 80 in which she made 7 of her last 8 cuts, but finished 82nd b/c the MC came in her last event of the season. I'd love to see her make a bigger comeback this year. I want to hear Johnny Miller say, "J Ro is back!"]

[Update 6 (4:44 pm): Oh, man! Redman bogeyed 18, too, to fall back to a tie with Rosales at -5. That puts them 5 behind Gal, who just birdied the 10th to take the solo lead again.]

[Update 7 (8:11 pm): Whoa, there! Imoto got up from her nap, but she looked so tired I put her down and laid down with her to help her sleep--and wham! I was out for 3 hours-plus. And so much happened while I was sleeping. Let's start at the bottom. Song-Hee Kim went on a birdie barrage to close out her round on the front, making 5 in her last 8 holes for a 69 that brought her to +2. She won't know if she's made the cut until tomorrow, though, as there are 77 players at +1 or better as the sun gets low. With her on the bubble are Mi Hyun Kim (72), Paula Creamer (+1 through 9), Jane Park (+1 through 11), Candie Kung (+2 through 11), Julieta Granada (-2 through 7), and Cheyenne Woods (-1 through 8), among others. Definitely out are Llano, who bogeyed 3 of her last 6 holes to fall back to a 72 today, Momoko Ueda, Hee Young Park, Shanshan Feng, and Anna Rawson--all at +3--as well as Katherine Hull, who shot a 41 on the back for a 77 that brought her to +4. Still fighting are Moira Dunn, who's -2 through her 1st 8 on the back to get back to +3, Hee-Won Han, who needs to make at least 2 birdies in her last 6 holes, and Jeong Jang, who needs at least 3 in her last 6.]

[Update 8 (8:18 pm): Man, imoto woke up, but at least she's playing quietly next to me. Let's continue with those who made the cut or who are on the right side of the cut line right now. Seon Hwa Lee birdied her last 2 holes--the 8th and 9th--for a 70 that brought her back to +1. What a way to avoid her 3rd missed cut of the season--a big deal for someone who had only missed 5 in her previous 3 seasons. On the bubble in a good way are Jane Park now (E through 12), Vicky Hurst (-1 through 11), Christina Kim (-2 through 10), and 4 others still on the front. But add Anna Nordqvist to those on the bubble in a bad way: she's now +2 through 11....]

[Update 9 (8:28 pm): There are several players still on the course who need to finish well to move from making the cut to thinking about making a move tomorrow on the leaders. Ya Ni Tseng is -1 through 10 and Inbee Park is -2 through 12 to fight back to E, joining Minea Blomqvist (74), Aree Song (73), and Chella Choi (69) among others. Cristie Kerr is -4 through 10, Karrie Webb is -1 through 10, In-Kyung Kim is -1 through 10, and Amanda Blumenherst is E through 9--they're all at -1 for the tournament, tied with Jee Young Lee (69), Helen Alfredsson (73), and Amy Yang (73). Ai Miyazato is -3 through 11, Natalie Gulbis is -2 through 11, Lindsey Wright is -2 through 13, and Se Ri Pak is E through 13, bringing them all to -3 for the tournament and into a tie with Na Yeon Choi (72), Mika Miyazato (72), and Haeji Kang (+1 through 7).]

[Update 10 (8:38 pm): That brings those with a great shot to be in contention Sunday up to bat. Sun Young Yoo is -3 through 13 to get to -4 for the tournament, tied with Alena Sharp, who shot her 2nd straight 70. Lang ended up shooting a 66 (with a 34 on the back) to join Meaghan Francella (68) and Sarah Kemp (70). And Kristy McPherson is -1 through 12, pulling her even with Rosales (69) at -6. If you can't get excited about the bunch at -7, you can't get excited about golf. Michelle Wie is -4 through 10, Stacy Lewis is -3 through 14, and McPherson has now joined them in a tie with 1st-round leader Sandra Gal, who blew up to a 73 after getting it to -11 through 11 today. Replaying last year's role as a pre-weekend contender, Morgan Pressel is -4 through 13 to get to -8, but she'll need to pour it on tomorrow to bring Ji-Yai Shin into reach. The rookie with 4 LPGA victories already shot a great 68, making 3 birdies over her last 6 holes to take control of the tournament.]

[Update 11 (8:43 pm): So with play suspended, there are 78 golfers at +1 or better. Cheyenne Woods just birdied the 10th to be one of them. But Moira Dunn bogeyed both the 18th and the 1st to drop back to E on her day and +5 for the tournament. Defending champ Eun-Hee Ji birdied 2 of her last 5 holes to fight back to +6 with 5 left to play. She'll need to birdie out to make the cut, it looks like. Here's hoping all have great Saturday mornings!]

[Update 12 (6/27/09, 2:20 pm): Check out LPGA.com's notes and interviews--turns out Shin set a 36-hole scoring record.]

[Update 13 (7:47 pm): Hound Dog chronicles how the 2nd round went Friday evening and Saturday morning.]

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