LPGA. North Texas Shoot-Out. Caroline Cruising.

Caroline Masson is cruising in the LPGA North Texas Shoot-Out, with a second round of even par 71, but it was good enough to keep her at the top of the leaderboard, courtesy of  her first round 64.

 

Caroline Masson / Tom Pennington / Getty Images

Caroline unfortunately let a very good lead slip by making bogey on three of her final four holes at the end of her second round. She finished with even par round, but luckily still leads the tournament by one shot, at -7 under par. Caroline said she not unhappy with the way things turned out, and looking forward to the week-end;

” I didn’t play as good as yesterday, but I expected that after that round yesterday. So I was off to a good start with a birdie on one, which was really nice.  And it calmed me down a little bit, and after that I just made a few good pars, but I also made some good putts for birdie. The last few; yeah, that was just some bad shots on the last few holes, but still I think, yeah a round of level par is never bad, you know.  And especially in that situation.  So I’m just looking forward to the weekend. I’m pretty happy it’s over now, I can just relax now and tomorrow I think I’ll be fine again.”

 Carlota Ciganda is just one shot off the lead, with a steady second round of -1 under par 71, and is now at -6 under par for the tournament. Carlota is a great traveler, next week she will return to Spain and will then play in LET events in Turkey, Holland and Germany. But she does like the States;

” I really like the U.S. it’s a great country.  I studied here, and I mean I love it here because everything is easy.  I mean the courses we play, they are great and the people are very, very nice. I just take my weeks off in Arizona, which it was really nice to go back there and see my friends. And Europe, it’s nice, too, because I am closer from home and I can go home in the weeks off.  But I love it here and I think the future is to be here.  So I’ll be playing in the U. S. and Europe this year, and then next year I’ll try to go more here.”

Tied in third place at -5 under par are Moriya Jutanugarn, Kathleen Ekey and Inbee Park, this tournament is shaping up to be really close, I look forward to the joust. Tomorrow there may be a clearer picture of who is likely to contest for the title.

 

 

LPGA Qualifying Tournament, Moriya Jutanugarn wins Stage 1

 

 

      

                                                               Moriya Jutanugarn/ zimbio.com

Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand has won stage one of the LPGA qualifying Tournament by one shot on the Champions Course at LPGA International in Florida. She had to recover from a wet tee shot  on the par 5, 18th hole to save her par, at the end of her final round. Moriya completed the tournament  at -15 under-par, one shot better than Garrett Phillips, who finished at -14 under par and alone in second place.

Moriya said she had been nervous all week;

” Each time I played this week I was a little nervous, getting to the LPGA is my goal. I really want to get to that final stage. I play golf because I want to play on the LPGA. It will get harder and harder, the second stage will be harder and the last will be tough. Everyone has to work so hard, and I try to really put a lot of work into my game and hopefully it will let me reach my goal.”

 

Jaye Marie Green, was among the three players who tied for third at 10-under. Spain’s Marta Silva  and Chattanooga’s Brooke Pancake were also at 10 under.

 

LPGA Q School Qualifying, 3rd round,Moriya Jutanugarn Prevails

Moriya Jutanugarn, the eighteen year-old Thai player, maintained her position at the top of the leaderboard after the thrid round of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, Florida. Moriya maintained her one-stroke lead heading into the final round on Friday of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament after  carding a 4-under-par 68 round today which moved her  to 13-under par. She leads Garrett Phillips who matched Jutanugarn’s 68 and sits one shot off the lead a 12-under par for the tournament. Moriya said she felt she was lucky;

” I was lucky, I hit it to within three feet on five and had a 15-footer on 18. Today I played with my good friend Jaye, my sister and I play with her a lot in junior and amateur. It’s so much fun to play with her. She’s a great player. It’s a lot of fun. When I hit it close, she would hit it closer, and I’d be like, what? That was a good shot. I feel like my putting in the first two rounds was better than today, tomorrow I just want to make some putts. I missed some putts for par. The greens have been tough.I’m not feeling too much pressure, I just want to make it in the top 60 and play in the second stage.”

Jaye Marie Green had -3 under par third round and is just two shots back of the leader at -11 under par for the tournament. The only other player who is in touch with the top three is Brooke Pancake who also had a third round -3 under par, 69, and currently occupies fourth spot on her own at -4 under par.

Friday’s final round will start off the first tee of the Champions Course at LPGA International.  The top-60 and ties on Friday will move on to the second stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament, to be held Oct. 9-12, at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida. The top 70 and ties from Stage II will advance into the final Qualifying Tournament Stage III.

LPGA Q School Qualifying, Moriya Jutanugarn leads after the 2nd round

 

Moriya Jutanugarn/zimbio.com

Moriya Jutanugarn, of  Bangkok, Thailand, playing the Champions course, leads the tournament after the second round of the LPGA Qualifying tournament at the LPGA International, Daytona Beach, Fla. Moriya shot a -6 under par 66 in the second round, and a total score of -9 under par, to lead by one shot from two Americans, Garrett Phillips and Jaye Marie Green, who had rounds of 67 and 66 respectively, and totals of -8 under par. Garrett was also on the Champions course while Jaye Marie had her 66 on the Legends course.

Marta Silva of Spain, playing the Legends course is another shot back on -7 under par and the wonderfully named Brooke Pancake is a further shot back of the leaders at -6 under par and is still in touch, she played the Champions course today.

First round leader Rachel Rohanna , struggled with the Champions course and slumped to a +3 over par second round of 75, and is now currently 5 shots adrift of the leader.