So much for having one less day to prepare for the RICOH Women’s British Open at Royal Liverpool. I think Jiyai Shin took that train of thought completely out of the question. With the second round having been scrapped due to high winds, a few ladies found Hoylake for the taking on Saturday.
Jun. 24, 2011; Pittsford, NY, USA; Jiyai Shin reacts to her putt on the 5th hole during the second round of the Wegmans LPGA championship at the Locust Hill Country Club. (Lauren Mackson-US PRESSWIRE)
Especially Shin.
On a day where the winds were nowhere near the strength from Friday (at least early on in the round), Shin completely tore apart the course. And that might be understating it a bit. All Shin did was shoot an 8-under-par 64. No big deal. Shin has won this tournament previously (2008 at Sunningdale) and showed no ill-effects from arriving later due to the extended playoff from Kingsmill.
You could say quite the opposite. Shin began her second round at a respectable 1-under (T3) and proceeded to start her day with an eagle on the par-5 10th as she played the inward nine first. That would serve as a precursor for her first nine. She would finish her first nine with a 6-under 31. Shin would cool down a bit on the back only firing a 33 for 2-under. Total for the day, a 64. She sits atop the leaderboard at -9.
Only a 33 over her last nine…
The wind did kick up a bit as the day progressed.
While all of this was happening, Shin would not only post the round of the day, she opened a five shot lead over second place Inbee Park. Not like Park didn’t have a good round either. She was 4-under (68) for the day and now stands at that score of -4 for the tournament. If not for Shin’s masterful round, everyone would be talking about Park’s 68.
Park may have been drafting off Shin’s round as they were in the same group.
Tomorrow will prove to be a long day as the ladies will play 36 holes in order for a Sunday finish.
The question is can anyone catch Jiyai Shin?
From the looks of it today, the answer is no one.
Born in Flint, Michigan, my father moved the family to southwestern Ohio in the summer of 1970. My brother introduced me to the game of baseball then and the Cincinnati Reds as well. Been a fan of the Reds ever since.
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