Friday, May 30, 2014

ShopRite LPGA Classic Friday: Jennifer Johnson Fires 10-Birdie 62 to Take 1-Shot Lead on Harukyo Nomura

Jennifer Johnson birdied 3 of her 1st 4 holes and 7 of her last 10 on her way to a tournament-record 62 in the 1st round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic today, which was just good enough to give her 1-shot lead on Harukyo Nomura and a 2-shot lead on Christina Kim.

With world #1 Inbee Park lurking 4 back, along with Na Yeon Choi, and the likes of Stacy Lewis, Michelle Wie, and Chella Choi at -4, Lydia Ko at -3, and Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist, Azahara Munoz, and defending champion Karrie Webb at -2, Johnson has a long way to go before she can think about getting her 2nd win on the LPGA, but he's certainly started things with a bang.  Plus she's put pressure on a lot of players coming in as favorites, such as Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, and Hee Young Park (now 8 back), Jessica Korda, Lizette Salas, and Jenny Shin (9 back), So Yeon Ryu (10 back), and Se Ri Pak, Paula Creamer, and Ai Miyazato (11 back).

With only 36 holes left to play, moving day will be more important than usual.  If anyone in the mid-60s or better can repeat their performance tomorrow, a lot of the field will be eliminated from contention.  Let's see how the 3 leaders back up their super-low rounds!

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