Portland Classic 2021 R2
September 16-19
The Oregon Golf Club, West Linn, Oregon
$1,400,000
Round 1, Round 3

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko carded six birdies and a single bogey for a second-round 67 at the Cambia Portland Classic. She sits atop the leaderboard at 8-under heading into the weekend at Oregon Golf Club, holding a one-stroke advantage over Gemma Dryburgh in second and a three-stroke lead over Carlota Ciganda in third.

Portland Classic 2021 R2

“I did a great job first two rounds and this course is not easy, so fairways and greens are really narrow so I had to focus on my shot,” said Ko, playing for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics nearly six weeks ago. “But I did a great job so I'm happy. I'm looking forward the weekend.”

Portland Classic 2021 R2

Dryburgh made the turn with three consecutive birdies in her 3-under 69 on Friday. Sitting just one stroke off the lead, this is the best 36-hole position of her LPGA Tour career. It's no coincidence that the Scottish player thrived in today's blustery weather conditions, saying that it felt like she was back home in Aberdeen.

“It was quite tough out there. It was quite windy. Reminded me of home a little bit, especially my back nine, the front nine,” said Dryburgh, a three-time winner on the Rose Ladies Series. “It's a bit more open around there so it's kind of tricky to the get the wind on the back nine, but round there it's quite open so made it quite tough.”

Portland Classic 2021 R2

Ciganda ended up barefoot at one point in her round of 71, taking off her shoes and socks to wade into a water hazard on No. 15. With her ball sitting up on a patch of grass just shy of the water, Ciganda knocked her 54-degree wedge to 15 feet and converted an unconventional birdie.

“That was a big plus, because I'm thinking about par with up and down and maybe a bogey, so that was a great birdie,” said Ciganda, who is looking for her first win since a pair of victories in 2016. “Had a couple good chances coming on 16 and 18, but I think it's always good to shoot under par, especially on this course.”

Portland Classic 2021 R2

Seven players are tied for fourth at 4-under, with Alana Uriell joining that group thanks to a flurry of five consecutive birdies to end her round.

“My putter just today felt hot. I was reading things really well and been working on speed a lot this week, so I think that all kind of came together,” said Uriell. “Then also we were like in a later group and it was getting dark and I knew that we had to finish, so I was like, Just choose it and trust it, and that really inspired the last few holes.“

Australian Katherine Kirk made a hole-in-one at the 12th, hitting it in from 131 yards with a pitching wedge.

Portland Classic 2021 R2

“It was fun actually because I hit it well, so that's obviously a bonus that it went in. But it was a good number and I put a good swing on it and landed about 2 feet short right of the hole and released in,” said Kirk. “I thought I hit it too hard but obviously it was enough. I was happy to see it go in and not have to putt.”

Kirk's ace is the fourth of her LPGA Tour career and first since the first round of the 2017 Volunteers of America Classic. For the hole-in-one, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The 2021 season has seen 13 aces for a total of $260,000 donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

“That's the highlight of the day right there. Obviously, they do great things at that hospital and heart goes out to those kids and their families. Yeah, the heroes are the doctors and the work they're doing,” said Kirk. “Happy to pitch in and nice to see. I guess it's CME that contributes that. So thanks to CME Group for doing that, because that's pretty awesome.”

Portland Classic 2021 R2