Lim joins Blumenherst on top at ANZ

BY Liz White | ALPG Tour | 2010 ANZ Ladies Masters | Round Two | 05 Mar 2010

American Amanda Blumenherst and Korean Ji-Na Lim are the joint leaders at the halfway mark of a rain sodden ANZ Ladies Masters being played on the Gold Coast.

Yesterday, Blumenherst shot a 6 under 66 and was able to back it up today with a solid 3 under 69 as the rain tumbled down.

Joining Blumenherst at the top is little known Korean LPGA player, Ji-Na Lim.

The 22-year-old snuck in a bogey free round 6 under 66 before the rains came down at the Royal Pines course today. On 9 under 135, the duo lead five players on 7 under, including defending champion, Katherine Hull, six time winner Karrie Webb, Brisbane’s Tamie Durdin and Korean LPGA number two, So Yeon Ryu.

A shot further back on 6 under are two of the Masters drawcards, world No 6 Yani Tseng and World No 7, Anna Nordqvist.

Korean Lim may not be well known to Australian fans but she is no stranger to these shores. This is her fourth Masters, with a T36th her best finish to date.

Over the past two months, as she has done for the past four years, Lim has been in camp at Moonah Links in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula district, with some fellow Korean players.

Australian Sarah Oh, who plays on the secondary Korean tour, joins the girls as they start their day at 5:30am. They play 18 holes, then practice putt before taking a spot of lunch. After a post meal session at the gym, another 18 holes are played before dinner and then some indoor swing analysis. 

Perhaps it is her familiarity with Australia that has influenced the Korean.  She grew up idolising LPGA Hall of Famer, Karrie Webb.

“When I started playing golf I saw Karrie on TV. I wanted to be like Karrie Webb,” she explained through an interpreter.

“She is my role model, even now. When I first saw her I was very excited. I’ve always wanted to play with her in the future.”

Blumenherst, in her rookie year, was pleased with how she handled the first round leader pressure.

“I am very proud of myself. I was nervous, of course, I have never had a lead in a professional event except at Q school,” she said.

“I handled it really well and stayed focussed.”

Blumenherst had the tougher half of the day as the rain began to come down in the middle of the afternoon groups rounds.

“Especially coming around the turn is when it really started raining and the wind was kind of not really predictable really, so it was tough,” she said.

“I feel I played the best I could with the rain and the mushy fairways.”

Adding to the difficulty of Blumenherst’s round was the fact that her group was put on the clock for slow play on their 8th hole of the day.

Blumenherst and her playing partners, Sydney’s Sarah Oh and Spain’s Tania Elosegui slipped even further behind as they waited for a rules official on their 10th hole of the day, the 332m par four first.

“I really don’t like being on the clock,” Blumenherst said.

“The rules official wasn’t coming and so we took a really long time and we went from being right on the tail of the group ahead of us, to being two holes behind.

“Being put on the clock is tough because even though I don’t feel like I go overtime, you are still consciously thinking you could be penalised.”

While Blumenherst looks like a traditional golfer out on the course in her Nike sponsored gear, her playing partner for tomorrow, Ji-Na Lim is a revelation, decked out in colourful Jack Nicklaus clothing.

Her white skirt and cap are emblazoned with “I Love Jack,” but Lim admitted she did receive an incentive to wear the gear.

“I like Jack Nicklaus, I love him, and they pay me a lot of money!” she laughed.

Lim said her admiration for the 18 times Major winner was not immediate.

“I envied him for a while, but after I met him I started to love him.”

Just two strokes back from Lim and Blumenherst is Karrie Webb. Playing in her 20th Masters, the 35-year-old is certainly not out of it, having once come from ten shots back to claim the title.

Also feeling confident is last year’s Masters runner-up, Tamie Durdin. Yesterday she blazed a 7 under 28 on the front nine only to let it slip with a 4 over 41 on the back.

Today she posted a bogey free 4 under 68.

“Yesterday was such an interesting round of golf, I had no idea what I was doing out there to be honest,” she said.

“All of a sudden I am 7 under through 9 and then 3 under through 18, thinking I have no idea why this was happening, it was just such a contrast of two nines.

“But it was good to walk off bogey free today.”