February 21-24
Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course, Chonburi, Thailand
$1,600,000
South Korean golfer Jenny Shin snatched the lead at the LPGA Thailand with a birdie on the last hole of the second round at Siam Country Club Pattaya on Friday.
.@JennyShin_LPGA birdies last hole to lead @hondalpgath after two rounds.
โ LPGA (@LPGA) 22 February 2019
Recap ==> https://t.co/mTCeuiClHn pic.twitter.com/ENc4i58S6f
Shin bogeyed the sixth hole but sunk five birdies in the rest of the round, including the par-5 18th. Her round of 4-under 68 put her at 11 under overall and one shot ahead of the field.
Three players were tied for second: Lizette Salas of the United States (68), Minjee Lee of Australia (69), and first-round leader Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea (71).
Shin said she was feeling the heat and thought she could have played better.
"I wasn't hydrated enough this morning and I could feel it by late afternoon," she said. "I could have made a few more putts. I will try to make sure I'm hydrated more tomorrow."
Lizette Salas is making her seventh Honda LPGA Thailand appearance this week and a strong one at that. Her offseason strength training is paying off in the high humidity and heat.
"I'm not a rookie anymore, I'm a vet, so it's time to get serious," Salas said. "I've found I can be more aggressive with the driving game and things are starting to pay off."
โWe went a little heavy on the weights with my trainer. Coming [to Thailand], you can definitely see the endurance and how you need to be focused both mentally and physically. With my score, you can see that,โ said Salas making a steady charge with a bogey-free 4-under 68 for an overall -10 through 36 holes.
Salas moved three spots up the leaderboard on Friday from T5 to T2, narrowing the gap between herself and Round 2 leader Jenny Shin (-11). Salas will tee off with Shin and Australian Minjee Lee (-10) in the final group on No. 1 at 10:10 a.m. for Round 3.
The temperatures were high but the scores were low during Round 2 of the @hondalpgath.
โ LPGA (@LPGA) 22 February 2019
Watch the highlights from an exciting day in Thailand now! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fKC8G9RxR6
World No. 7 Minjee Lee maintained her T2 position on the leaderboard through 36 holes, posting a second-round 3-under 69 on Friday. Lee's round consisted of five birdies and two bogeys, hitting nine of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens.
โI'm pretty sure I'm hitting it a little closer so I've got more looks at birdies,โ said the 22-year-old Australian. โYeah, a couple more putts are dropping and [I'm] getting a little bit more confidence.โ
Lee's best finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand is fourth place (2018), where she finished seven strokes behind defending champion Jessica Korda , who set the tournament scoring record of -25.
โI'm just going to play my game,โ said Lee who is one stroke shy of the lead. โIt's so hot out here, I think you can only focus on your own gameโฆ I'm just going to go back and just hydrate and chill out.โ
Moriya Jutanugarn set herself again as a strong local contender after her 68 lifted her into a share of ninth place with Carlota Ciganda of Spain, Katherine Kirk of Australia, and Ryann O'Toole of the U.S. They were four shots behind.
Moriya tied for second last year.
Her top-ranked sister Ariya dropped to 4 under after a par 72 including consecutive double bogeys.
Two of three-time LPGA Tour winner Amy Yang 's wins were made in Chonburi, Thailand at Siam C.C. in alternating years, 2015 and 2017. Also, her first LPGA Tour career was in 2013 at the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship. After hitting a hot streak during the second round on Friday, Yang is in prime position to make another bid for a win at the 2019 Honda LPGA Thailand.
โYou know, I think I putted really good. I mean, I made some couple mistakes out there, you know, two-, three-putted, and missed short eagle putt here, but I was putting really good overall, hitting it solid. Just felt comfortable out there,โ said Yang after carding one of the day's low round of 66.
When asked of her 2019 goals, Yang revealed her desire to win in this odd-numbered year, not once but twice.
โYou know what? Actually, I have never had more than one win in a year. I want to break that record this year.โ
Pos. |
Player | To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
Total |
1 |
Jenny Shin | -11 |
65 |
68 |
133 |
T2 |
Lizette Salas | -10 |
66 |
68 |
134 |
T2 |
Minjee Lee | -10 |
65 |
69 |
134 |
T2 |
Eun-Hee Ji | -10 |
63 |
71 |
134 |
T5 |
Austin Ernst | -9 |
69 |
66 |
135 |
T5 |
Amy Yang | -9 |
69 |
66 |
135 |
T5 |
Amy Olson | -9 |
68 |
67 |
135 |
8 |
Danielle Kang | -8 |
65 |
71 |
136 |
T9 |
Carlota Ciganda | -7 |
70 |
67 |
137 |
T9 |
Ryann O'Toole | -7 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T9 |
Moriya Jutanugarn | -7 |
69 |
68 |
137 |
T9 |
Katherine Kirk | -7 |
66 |
71 |
137 |
T13 |
Georgia Hall | -6 |
72 |
66 |
138 |
T13 |
Nelly Korda | -6 |
69 |
69 |
138 |
T13 |
Yu Liu | -6 |
68 |
70 |
138 |
T16 |
Megan Khang | -5 |
70 |
69 |
139 |
T16 |
Ayako Uehara | -5 |
68 |
71 |
139 |
T16 |
Brooke M. Henderson | -5 |
66 |
73 |
139 |
T19 |
Lydia Ko | -4 |
73 |
67 |
140 |
T19 |
Hyo Joo Kim | -4 |
70 |
70 |
140 |
T19 |
Jacqui Concolino | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T19 |
Charley Hull | -4 |
69 |
71 |
140 |
T19 |
Bronte Law | -4 |
68 |
72 |
140 |
T19 |
Ariya Jutanugarn | -4 |
68 |
72 |
140 |
T19 |
Michelle Wie | -4 |
68 |
72 |
140 |
T26 |
Muni He | -3 |
71 |
70 |
141 |
T26 |
Ally McDonald | -3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T26 |
Sung Hyun Park | -3 |
69 |
72 |
141 |
T26 |
Mo Martin | -3 |
67 |
74 |
141 |
T26 |
Jennifer Song | -3 |
66 |
75 |
141 |
T31 |
Cristie Kerr | -2 |
75 |
67 |
142 |
T31 |
Shanshan Feng | -2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
T31 |
Sei Young Kim | -2 |
71 |
71 |
142 |
T31 |
Angel Yin | -2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
T31 |
Jodi Ewart Shadoff | -2 |
70 |
72 |
142 |
T31 |
Sandra Gal | -2 |
69 |
73 |
142 |
T31 |
In Gee Chun | -2 |
69 |
73 |
142 |
T31 |
Lindy Duncan | -2 |
69 |
73 |
142 |
T39 |
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras | -1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
T39 |
Celine Boutier | -1 |
72 |
71 |
143 |
T39 |
Chella Choi | -1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T39 |
Gaby Lopez | -1 |
71 |
72 |
143 |
T43 |
Pernilla Lindberg | E |
73 |
71 |
144 |
T43 |
Azahara Munoz | E |
73 |
71 |
144 |
T43 |
Pornanong Phatlum | E |
71 |
73 |
144 |
T43 |
Mi Hyang Lee | E |
71 |
73 |
144 |
T43 |
Brittany Altomare | E |
69 |
75 |
144 |
T48 |
So Yeon Ryu | 1 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
T48 |
Lexi Thompson | 1 |
74 |
71 |
145 |
T48 |
Jin Young Ko | 1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
T48 |
Thidapa Suwannapura | 1 |
72 |
73 |
145 |
T48 |
Atthaya Thitikul (a) | 1 |
70 |
75 |
145 |
T48 |
Marina Alex | 1 |
69 |
76 |
145 |
T53 |
Annie Park | 2 |
74 |
72 |
146 |
T53 |
Jeong Eun Lee | 2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
T53 |
Anna Nordqvist | 2 |
73 |
73 |
146 |
T57 |
Beatriz Recari | 3 |
74 |
73 |
147 |
T57 |
Nasa Hataoka | 3 |
73 |
74 |
147 |
T57 |
Paula Creamer | 3 |
72 |
75 |
147 |
T57 |
Angela Stanford | 3 |
72 |
75 |
147 |
T57 |
Caroline Masson | 3 |
71 |
76 |
147 |
T62 |
Wei-Ling Hsu | 4 |
76 |
72 |
148 |
T62 |
Sarah Jane Smith | 4 |
74 |
74 |
148 |
T62 |
Su Oh | 4 |
73 |
75 |
148 |
T62 |
Suzuka Yamaguchi | 4 |
73 |
75 |
148 |
T62 |
Hina Arakaki | 4 |
71 |
77 |
148 |
T67 |
Pajaree Anannarukarn | 5 |
77 |
72 |
149 |
T67 |
Emma Talley | 5 |
74 |
75 |
149 |
69 |
Benyapa Niphatsophon | 6 |
75 |
75 |
150 |
70 |
Ribka Vania (a) | 11 |
74 |
81 |
155 |