Brilliant amateur Yang takes lead at Royal Pines
IN: News | ALPG | ANZ Ladies Masters (2006) | Round Two | by Bruce Young | 03 Feb 2006
Day Two Photo Gallery - ANZ Ladies Masters
Day two at the ANZ Ladies Masters was almost a repeat of day one in terms of weather conditions with the early starters again experiencing mild, hot conditions and a golf course which offered plenty of opportunities.
The early field set the tone for what would be a day of hot scoring but perhaps surprisingly it would be the afternoon players who would lead the event after day two.
16-year-old Gold Coast based Korean, Amy Yang, who last year won the New Zealand Women's Amateur Championship in Christchurch and finished runner up to compatriot Sarah Oh at the Australian Stroke Play Championship made the turn in five under 32. She was in the afternoon group and maintained her eight under score throughout much of the last nine holes until a birdie at the 17th from short range saw her move to nine under. She was forced to hole a putt from seven feet at the last to save par which she did and at nine under she leads by one.
Yang attends the Robina High School only five kilometres from the tournament venue and she is assured of having many of her classmates here in force tomorrow supporting her as she looks to hold off the lineup of world class players who will no doubt challenge her in round three.
As could be expected from a 16-year-old Korean, who has been in Australia for only fourteen months and who struggles with English, she experienced trouble in the press conference later but it is all part of the learning curve she is on by coming here to develop her game. What she was able to say was that she had been playing golf for just over six years and that she is aiming at turning professional at the age of eighteen.
"I had two good chances on the 12th and 17th holes on the way in which I missed," she added via interpreter when asked if her round could have been better. Her local coach Laurie Montague spent time with her yesterday and clearly they are working well together.
Scot Mhairi Mckay led overnight on day one and although she started well today she dropped shots late on her front nine. She recovered well over the back nine to be at eight under and within one of the youngster. "I made a good start but then stumbled a little towards the end of the front nine. I pulled my tee shot at the 15th into the hazard and then bogeyed the 18th but after making the turn I picked up three shots on the way in. I am delighted to be where I am and making some good swings."
22-year-old American, Catherine Cartwright, who is here on a sponsor's invitation, has struggled in her USLPGA career, but her form late on day two showed that her success in the 2000 US Public Links Championship and in high school events is a better guide to her capabilities. She finished at seven under with a birdie at the last and is two behind.
South Australian Anne Marie Knight, who had one of her better finishes in tournament golf here two years ago when fifth behind Annika Sorenstam, has really battled with her lack of self belief in her game over the last twelve months but she clearly has an affinity with Royal Pines and this might be just the boost she needs to get things back on track. She birdied her last hole of the day to get within two.
The players who endured the more demanding afternoon conditions on day one, which were perhaps a shot or two tougher than those in the morning, had their turn to capitalize on the morning conditions conducive to low scoring and it did not take long for several of them to do just that. In fact by midday the challenges were coming thick and fast.
The New Zealander, Lynnette Brooky, who spent a couple of nights in hospital earlier in the week after withdrawing from the last round of the Players Championship last week at Club Pelican, rose from her sick bed to challenge those ahead of her on the leaderboard.
"I really did not expect to be playing this week," she said. It appears Brooky has either picked up some sort of food poisoning or virus either in or en route from her South African trip where she played in the World Cup. "I stood on our 11th tee today and seriously I could not even see the ball." Brooky though, was motivated to play the event by the presence of her parents Frank and Margaret who are both suffering from illness themselves. "It is the first time they have seen me play in a professional tournament and they thought it a good opportunity to come over for this event." She had further inspiration from a few words of advice written on a note from an uncle she had met for the first time this week. "He (Uncle Lawrence) is my father's brother but we have not previously met." The note he gave to her contained several positive statements, more especially about focusing and paying attention to the task at hand.
While these may have been motivating factors, an incident occurred during the course of her round she did not need. Her two playing partners Diana Luna, who was one of the joint overnight leaders, and Australian amateur Sarah Oh, were under the scrutiny of tournament officials for slow play and eventually a one shot penalty was imposed on them on the 12th hole of their round. Luna had actually made a birdie at that hole but with the extra stroke recorded a par. "They were penalized on the third hole, told on the fourth and things erupted on the fifth. It did distract me a little and I dropped a shot at the 6th but got over it by the 7th when I made birdie."
Brooky led this event by several shots at the end of 36 holes in 2001 but faded over the final two rounds. She is of course a much more accomplished player in 2006 and it will be interesting to see how she handles this situation and her illness over the weekend.
Tiffany Joh from California, but also of Korean heritage, who set Royal Pines alight last year with a second round 63, was at it again in 2006 when she recorded a second round 66. The UCLA student is a member of the successful UCLA Collegiate team who finished second behind the all conquering Duke last year. She was offered a sponsors invitation to be here and said she jumped at the chance without asking why she received another start here.
There were others also who were moving in a forward direction. France's Ludivine Kreutz took six holes to record her first birdie and it came at one of the more difficult par fours. She reeled off a series of pars over the next eight holes before a birdie at the par five 15th got her within one of Brooky. The Solheim Cup player hit 17 greens in her second round of 70 and described her round as steady.
Korean Hee-Young Park is one of seven Koreans in the field two of whom are amongst the leading contenders. Park plays the Korean ladies Tour and attends University in Seoul. She followed her first round of 74 with a blistering second round of 65 to be at five under. She played her final nine holes in six under and was rewarded for a more relaxed attitude on the course. "I tried a little too hard yesterday," she said referring to her first round 74, "but today I relaxed and laughed and joked with my caddy and it was much better."
Another Solheim Cup player in 2005, Glwadys Nocera, was also on the move. After and early bogey at her first hole, when she hit her tee shot in the water at the par four 10th, she was round in 68 to be at five under and in a large group on that score at that time.
As the day drew to a close the two pre-tournament favourites Karrie Webb and Ai Miyazato had mixed fortunes. Webb birdied four of her last seven holes to move to five under and reminded all and sundry that that despite her slow start to the event she was not too far away. Nobody needs reminding of what Webb is capable of here over the final two rounds. "My ball striking was a lot better today and I was determined to stay patient," she said referring to several missed chances early on. "The four late birdies leave me really pleased with the finish."
Miyazato on the other hand was penalised for inadvertently moving her ball while addressing it on the putting green on the second hole. She called for a ruling and was originally told there was no penalty. She later viewed footage of the incident after being told not to sign her card until after she had looked at some footage. Miyazato took it in her stride and was still signing autographs some time after finishing her round
She finished at two over and only just made the cut. Her two playing partners Katherine Hull and Maria Hjorth said they never even saw the supposed infringement. The sigh of relief from Bob Tuohy was audible from many areas of the course as one of his star recruits for the event was still here for the weekend.
80 players made the cut at three over.
Photo - Anthony Powter
