Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala. — Jessica Korda shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Hall of Famer Karrie Webb after the second round of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic.
Korda had seven birdies in her second straight bogey-free round to reach 13 under on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove complex.
“I’m hitting the ball good and I’m having a lot of fun out there,” said Korda, coming off a two-week break to rest a wrist injury. “I feel really comfortable out here. This is definitely one of the stops I wanted to come back to and I hope we can keep this event as long as possible because I really like it.”
The daughter of former tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Raichrtova, the 20-year-old Korda won the 2012 Women’s Australian Open for her lone LPGA Tour title.
“Right now it’s Friday, so I think really the tournament starts back nine on Sunday,” Korda said. “So right now, it’s great to have the lead and I feel good.”
Webb also had a bogey-free round, birdieing the last three holes for a 63.
The 38-year-old Webb won the last of her 38 LPGA Tour titles in 2011. The Australian played alongside Korda and Brittany Lincicome the first two rounds.
“When you’re playing with Jess and Brittany, if I hit a really good one I’m 20 yards behind them,” Webb said. “In certain parts of the golf course where they can carry parts that I can’t, I’m 40 yards behind them, so I’m the little short one out there trying to keep up with the big girls.”
Korda birdied three of the four par-5 holes.
“I reached every single one today, so that’s been really nice,” Korda said. “Yeah, we give Webby a hard time. She did outdrive me on the first hole today and she’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ And I’m like, ‘Did you work out last night?’ … We were just keeping it kind of light out there and having a good time.”
Chella Choi was two strokes back at 11 under after a 66.
“Today and yesterday my putting was really good,” Choi said. “My confidence is better.”
Sydnee Michaels had a course-record 62 to join Pornanong Phatlum and Thidapa Suwannapura at 10 under.
“It feels so good to finally have a good round because I’ve been struggling the last few weeks and going through some swing changes,” Michaels said. “The week off last week I just said, ‘You know what, I’m just going to go back to what feels good.’ So I hit a lot of balls and just kind of got back to where I was feeling good over the ball again. So, it feels so good to finally have a good round.”
Phatlum shot a 65, and Suwannapura had a 67.
Lisa McCloskey shot a 68 to reach 7 under after she and her mother, Maria, were involved in a multicar accident on their way home after the first round. The tour rookie and former University of Southern California player had an array of scrapes from the airbags and a sore thumb and only got about 30 minutes of sleep.
“I think I came out here with no expectations, just-make-the-cut kind of thing,” McCloskey said. “I probably would have been happy with even par or a couple over. But I don’t know, the putter was really working for me on the front nine, and then the back nine things kind of slowed down. I think I kind of got a little bit tired, but I finished with two really good pars, so I’m happy.”
Defending champion Stacy Lewis was 4 under after her second straight 70. She had a double bogey in the par-3 14th after hitting in the water.
“I made too many mistakes and you can’t do it when people are shooting lights out,” said the second-ranked Lewis, the winner this year in consecutive events in Singapore and Phoenix.
Michelle Wie missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 75. Lincicome also missed the cut, shooting 75-70.
VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
KAVARNA, Bulgaria — Ian Poulter was eliminated from the Volvo World Match Play Championship after losing another round-robin match at Thracian Cliffs.
Poulter, the 2001 winner, lost to South Africa’s Thomas Aiken, 1 up, when the English star bogeyed the last hole after missing the fairway.
Poulter lost to Thongchai Jaidee on Thursday. On Friday morning, Jaidee beat Aiken, 1 up.
Jaidee is one of only four players to win both early matches, joining Francesco Molinari, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Scott Jamieson.
The round of 16 pairing are: Branden Grace vs. Brett Rumford; Richard Sterne vs. Chris Wood; Molinari vs. Carl Pettersson; Shane Lowry vs. Aiken; Jamieson vs. Felipe Aguilar; Jaidee vs. Peter Hanson; Fernandez-Castano vs. Nicolas Colsaerts; and Graeme McDowell vs. Bo Van Pelt.
MADEIRA ISLANDS OPEN
SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands — Scotland’s Craig Lee took a one-stroke lead over American Peter Uihlein and Chile’s Mark Tullo on Friday during the suspended second round of the Madeira Islands Open.
Lee shot a 4-under 68 to reach 9-under 135 at Santo da Serra Golf Club.
Uihlein, the former Oklahoma State star who won the 2010 U.S. Amateur, settled for a 64 after playing the first 12 holes in 10 under with an eagle and eight birdies. He bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16.
Tullo had a 69. France’s Thomas Levet was fourth at 7 under after a 67.
Fog delayed play for 1½ hours and the round was suspended because of darkness.
