March 21-24
Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix, Arizona
$1,500,000
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4
Sung Hyun Park shot her second straight 6-under 66 to take a share of the lead with Yu Liu. She birdied five of the first six holes on her final nine in perfect conditions at Desert Ridge but lost the outright lead when she played a bogey on the par-4 ninth.
"Overall, I'm really happy with the play today, especially putting was really good," Park said. "The shots were better than yesterday."
It's a packed leaderboard @lpgafounders!#NECLPGAStats @NEC pic.twitter.com/TXsW8iHrBI
โ #DriveOn (@LPGA) March 23, 2019
Park has won six times in her first three years on the tou including majors at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open and 2018 Women's PGA Championship.
Liu played 10 birdies in a 64 to join Park at 12-under 132.
"I don't expect this to happen every day," Liu said. "When a day like this comes, I just am glad I was able to take advantage of it."
Strom aims to be "hometown" hero
If you didn't know 2019 LPGA rookie Linnea Strom, you'd have been surprised to see quite a gallery following the Swedish native around Wildfire Golf Club on Friday afternoon. Strom, who now calls Phoenix home, spent two years at Arizona State University, where she was a two-time All-American and helped lead the Sun Devils to the program's eighth NCAA National Championship in 2017. Strom's former teammates and several local supporters had a front-row seat to what was a career-best 7-under round on Friday.
โI'm not used to being in this situation with a lot of the people watching and everything,โ she said. โIt's a bit different. But as I said, with my ASU team out there around me I feel like I had some great support. I live here so it's like home for me.โ
Strom is making just her fourth career LPGA start this week, her first playing in front of her adopted hometown fans at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. The 2018 Symetra Tour Gaelle Truet Rookie of the Year heads into the weekend just two shots off the lead but is trying to stay relaxed.
โObviously I want to end up on the top of the leaderboard,โ said Strom. โIt's my first time being in this situation, so I don't have any high expectations. I just want to go out and try to play as good as I did today, but just continue to do what I can do, and we will see how it is.โ
Two blue devil alums near the top in Phoenix
Yu Liu (-12, T1) and Celine Boutier (-10, T3) have quite the history together beyond the LPGA Tour. Liu, a native of Beijing, and Boutier, who hails from Montrouge, France, played together during their time at Duke University and formed a strong bond along the way.
โOh, we were the best friends!โ said Liu, who gushed about Boutier, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner when she won the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February. โCeline has been doing an incredible job this year. Definitely great role model for all the Dukies, and hopefully I'll be able to do what she's done this season: get a win.โ
Boutier was a two-time All-American and the 2013-2014 National Player of the Year while at Duke. She and Liu, who earned second-team All-America honors in 2013-2014, helped lead the Blue Devils to the program's sixth NCAA Championship in 2014. โShe's one of my closest friends out here,โ Boutier said of Liu. โWe played on Symetra Tour two years ago together, we graduated together, and then last year we had a pretty good rookie year on the LPGA Tour together.โ
Liu had 10 birdies on Friday to shoot the second-lowest round of her young LPGA career with a 64 and find herself in a tie for the 36-hole lead for the first time. โEverything kind of clicked all together,โ said Liu. โI don't expect this to happen every day. When a day like this come, I just am glad I was able to take advantage of it.โ
"Everything just kind of clicked together."
โ #DriveOn (@LPGA) March 22, 2019
Yu Liu carded 10 birdies on her way to an 8-under 64. She currently is tied for the lead at -12.
WATCH ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SQbjpJedFE
Player Notes
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Sung Hyun Park (66-66)
Park's 36-hole 132 is tied for the second-lowest 36-hole score of her LPGA Tour career; she has shot 131 in her wins at the 2018 Indy Women in Tech Championship and the 2018 Volunteers of America Texas Classic, and has shot 132 three times
She hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens
Park is in her third season on the LPGA Tour; she has six career victories, including major wins at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open and the 2018 KPMG Women's PGA Championship
This is Park's third event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; she won the HSBC Women's World Championship and finished T21 at the Honda LPGA Thailand
She is competing in her fourth Bank of Hope Founders Cup; her best finish is T13 in 2016 and 2017
Park is in her 15th career week at No. 1 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings; she regained the No. 1 spot on March 4 following her victory in Singapore
Rolex Rankings No. 71 Yu Liu (68-64)
Liu's second-round 64 is the second-lowest round of her LPGA Tour career; she shot a 63 in the second round of the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
Her 36-hole 132 is tied for the lowest 36-hole score of her LPGA Tour career; she previously shot a 132 at the 2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, where she finished T23
She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens
Liu is in her second season on the LPGA Tour; her best finish is third at the 2018 Volunteers of America Texas Classic
This is Liu's fifth event of the 2019 LPGA Tour season; she finished T10 at the Honda LPGA Thailand and has yet to finish worse than 32nd
She is competing in her second Bank of Hope Founders Cup; she missed the cut in 2018
She played the 2013-14 season at Duke University and was a member of the 2014 NCAA National Championship-winning team alongside Celine Boutier
Quick hits
The 36-hole cut fell at 1-under par with 86 players making it to the weekend
Defending champion Inbee Park is T11 through 36 holes at -9
LPGA Founders' annual Pro-Am moving to Bank of Hope Founders Cup week
LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith announced today at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, that the annual Marilynn Smith LPGA Charity Pro-Am , originally held at PebbleCreek in Goodyear, Arizona, is moving to Wildfire Golf Club next year. The event will take place on the Monday following the 2020 Bank of Hope Founders Cup.
โAt the LPGA, our motto is โact like a founder', which means do whatever it takes to leave the game better for the next generation of golfers,โ said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. โThere is no greater role model for our members than LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith. Her passion for the game and for the LPGA are unequaled. Even in retirement, she continues to serve as an example to all players and teachers.โ
The event benefits the Marilynn Smith Scholarship Fund, which the founder herself created in 1999, and to date, 159 scholarships have been awarded, totaling $838,000.
Pos. |
Player | To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
Total |
T1 |
Yu Liu | -12 |
68 |
64 |
132 |
T1 |
Sung Hyun Park | -12 |
66 |
66 |
132 |
T3 |
Linnea Strom | -10 |
69 |
65 |
134 |
T3 |
Amy Yang | -10 |
68 |
66 |
134 |
T3 |
Mi Jung Hur | -10 |
68 |
66 |
134 |
T3 |
Angel Yin | -10 |
67 |
67 |
134 |
T3 |
Lydia Ko | -10 |
67 |
67 |
134 |
T3 |
Cheyenne Knight | -10 |
66 |
68 |
134 |
T3 |
Nanna Koerstz Madsen | -10 |
65 |
69 |
134 |
T3 |
Celine Boutier | -10 |
64 |
70 |
134 |
T11 |
Jeongeun Lee6 | -9 |
70 |
65 |
135 |
T11 |
Inbee Park | -9 |
69 |
66 |
135 |
T11 |
Nelly Korda | -9 |
68 |
67 |
135 |
T11 |
Brooke M. Henderson | -9 |
67 |
68 |
135 |
T11 |
Carlota Ciganda | -9 |
66 |
69 |
135 |
T16 |
Jessica Korda | -8 |
69 |
67 |
136 |
T16 |
Sei Young Kim | -8 |
69 |
67 |
136 |
T16 |
Cristie Kerr | -8 |
69 |
67 |
136 |
T16 |
Pornanong Phatlum | -8 |
66 |
70 |
136 |
T16 |
Na Yeon Choi | -8 |
65 |
71 |
136 |
T16 |
Charlotte Thomas | -8 |
65 |
71 |
136 |
T22 |
Hyo Joo Kim | -7 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T22 |
Sarah Schmelzel | -7 |
67 |
70 |
137 |
T22 |
Mirim Lee | -7 |
67 |
70 |
137 |
T22 |
Jenny Shin | -7 |
66 |
71 |
137 |
T22 |
Jin Young Ko | -7 |
65 |
72 |
137 |
T27 |
Anna Nordqvist | -6 |
72 |
66 |
138 |
T27 |
Hee Young Park | -6 |
71 |
67 |
138 |
T27 |
Jennifer Song | -6 |
70 |
68 |
138 |
T27 |
Bronte Law | -6 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T27 |
Jing Yan | -6 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T27 |
Marina Alex | -6 |
68 |
70 |
138 |
T27 |
Alana Uriell | -6 |
65 |
73 |
138 |
T34 |
Brittany Lincicome | -5 |
74 |
65 |
139 |
T34 |
Tiffany Chan | -5 |
73 |
66 |
139 |
T34 |
Stephanie Meadow | -5 |
72 |
67 |
139 |
T34 |
Amy Olson | -5 |
72 |
67 |
139 |
T34 |
Thidapa Suwannapura | -5 |
72 |
67 |
139 |
T34 |
Annie Park | -5 |
71 |
68 |
139 |
T34 |
Mo Martin | -5 |
71 |
68 |
139 |
T34 |
Shanshan Feng | -5 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T34 |
Jodi Ewart Shadoff | -5 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T43 |
Anne Van Dam | -4 |
74 |
66 |
140 |
T43 |
Kim Kaufman | -4 |
73 |
67 |
140 |
T43 |
Austin Ernst | -4 |
72 |
68 |
140 |
T43 |
Caroline Masson | -4 |
71 |
69 |
140 |
T43 |
Gaby Lopez | -4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T43 |
Ariya Jutanugarn | -4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T43 |
Moriya Jutanugarn | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T43 |
Ally McDonald | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T43 |
Chella Choi | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T43 |
Peiyun Chien | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T53 |
Eun-Hee Ji | -3 |
72 |
69 |
141 |
T53 |
Wichanee Meechai | -3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T53 |
Azahara Munoz | -3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T53 |
Wei-Ling Hsu | -3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T53 |
Ruixin Liu | -3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T53 |
Haru Nomura | -3 |
70 |
71 |
141 |
T53 |
Georgia Hall | -3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T53 |
Su Oh | -3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T53 |
Hannah Green | -3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T53 |
Katherine Kirk | -3 |
68 |
73 |
141 |
T63 |
Sandra Gal | -2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
T63 |
Emma Talley | -2 |
73 |
69 |
142 |
T63 |
Dana Finkelstein | -2 |
72 |
70 |
142 |
T63 |
Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong | -2 |
72 |
70 |
142 |
T63 |
Alison Lee | -2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
T63 |
Mi Hyang Lee | -2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
T63 |
Tiffany Joh | -2 |
69 |
73 |
142 |
T70 |
Kristen Gillman | -1 |
74 |
69 |
143 |
T70 |
Brianna Do | -1 |
74 |
69 |
143 |
T70 |
Megan Khang | -1 |
74 |
69 |
143 |
T70 |
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras | -1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T70 |
Charley Hull | -1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T70 |
Lee-Anne Pace | -1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T70 |
Elizabeth Szokol | -1 |
73 |
70 |
143 |
T70 |
In Gee Chun | -1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
T70 |
Yoon-Ji Cho | -1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
T70 |
Sarah Jane Smith | -1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T70 |
Minjee Lee | -1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T70 |
Gemma Dryburgh | -1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
T70 |
Xiyu Lin | -1 |
70 |
73 |
143 |
T70 |
Lizette Salas | -1 |
69 |
74 |
143 |
T70 |
Brittany Altomare | -1 |
69 |
74 |
143 |
T70 |
Clariss Guce | -1 |
68 |
75 |
143 |
T70 |
Daniela Darquea | -1 |
67 |
76 |
143 |
T87 |
Stacy Lewis | E |
75 |
69 |
144 |
T87 |
Jaye Marie Green | E |
74 |
70 |
144 |
T87 |
Morgan Pressel | E |
74 |
70 |
144 |
T87 |
Christina Kim | E |
73 |
71 |
144 |
T87 |
Brittany Marchand | E |
71 |
73 |
144 |
T87 |
Mariah Stackhouse | E |
71 |
73 |
144 |
T87 |
Nicole Broch Larsen | E |
70 |
74 |
144 |
T87 |
Brittany Lang | E |
69 |
75 |
144 |
T95 |
Juli Inkster | 1 |
76 |
69 |
145 |
T95 |
Catriona Matthew | 1 |
75 |
70 |
145 |
T95 |
Laura Davies | 1 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
T95 |
Isi Gabsa | 1 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
T95 |
Jenny Haglund | 1 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
T95 |
Lauren Stephenson | 1 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
T95 |
Aditi Ashok | 1 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
T95 |
In-Kyung Kim | 1 |
73 |
72 |
145 |
T95 |
Kendall Dye | 1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
T95 |
Ayako Uehara | 1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
T95 |
Candie Kung | 1 |
71 |
74 |
145 |
T95 |
Marissa Steen | 1 |
71 |
74 |
145 |
T95 |
Haeji Kang | 1 |
69 |
76 |
145 |
T108 |
Anne-Catherine Tanguay | 2 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
T108 |
Jane Park | 2 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
T108 |
Lindy Duncan | 2 |
75 |
71 |
146 |
T108 |
Celine Herbin | 2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
T108 |
Mariajo Uribe | 2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
T108 |
Alena Sharp | 2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
T108 |
Csicsi Rozsa | 2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
T108 |
Mel Reid | 2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
T108 |
Pernilla Lindberg | 2 |
72 |
74 |
146 |
T108 |
Ashleigh Buhai | 2 |
70 |
76 |
146 |
T118 |
Youngin Chun | 3 |
76 |
71 |
147 |
T118 |
Sakura Yokomine | 3 |
76 |
71 |
147 |
T118 |
Jackie Stoelting | 3 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
T118 |
Mina Harigae | 3 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
T118 |
Ryann O'Toole | 3 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
T118 |
Dani Holmqvist | 3 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
T118 |
Laura Gonzalez Escallon | 3 |
72 |
75 |
147 |
T118 |
Jacqui Concolino | 3 |
72 |
75 |
147 |
T118 |
Yani Tseng | 3 |
72 |
75 |
147 |
T118 |
Maria Torres | 3 |
69 |
78 |
147 |
T128 |
Angela Stanford | 4 |
76 |
72 |
148 |
T128 |
Pavarisa Yoktuan | 4 |
75 |
73 |
148 |
T128 |
Dottie Ardina | 4 |
75 |
73 |
148 |
T128 |
Angelina Kim (a) | 4 |
74 |
74 |
148 |
T128 |
Jeong Eun Lee | 4 |
74 |
74 |
148 |
T128 |
Lindsey Weaver | 4 |
73 |
75 |
148 |
T128 |
Jaclyn Lee | 4 |
73 |
75 |
148 |
T128 |
Karine Icher | 4 |
72 |
76 |
148 |
T136 |
Gerina Piller | 5 |
78 |
71 |
149 |
T136 |
Madelene Sagstrom | 5 |
74 |
75 |
149 |
T136 |
Klara Spilkova | 5 |
73 |
76 |
149 |
T139 |
Benyapa Niphatsophon | 6 |
78 |
72 |
150 |
T139 |
Kris Tamulis | 6 |
77 |
73 |
150 |
141 |
Becca Huffer | 7 |
75 |
76 |
151 |
T142 |
Joanna Klatten | 9 |
76 |
77 |
153 |
T142 |
Maddie McCrary | 9 |
73 |
80 |
153 |
WD |
Beatriz Recari |