Associated Press
| Associated Press
Midland, Mich. – Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire shot a 10-under 60 in better-ball play Friday to take the second-round lead in the Dow Championship, the LPGA Tour’s only team event.
The Solheim Cup rivals had a 13-under 127 total at Midland Country Club after opening with an alternate-shot 67 on Thursday.
“The plan today was just to give ourselves as many chances as we could, try to get two chances on every hole,” said Maguire, from Ireland. “For the most part, we did that. It was nice to start off with a birdie and sort of an eagle very early on to get the ball rolling.”
They had a one-stroke lead over Cassie Porter and Gemma Dryburgh, the first-round leaders who parred the final six holes in a 62. The teams will play another alternate-shot round Saturday, and close with a better-ball round Sunday.
“Lots of golf to go,” said Kupcho, the 2022 winner with fellow American Lizette Salas. “I think just kind of staying where we’re at and continuing what we’re doing the best we can.”
The teams of Sarah Schmelzel-Albane Valenzuela (61), Manon De Roey-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (61) and and Yan Liu-Yahui Zhang (62) were 11 under.
“It was a great round,” Valenzuela said, “I feel like I definitely feed off Sarah’s energy. She makes it really easy for me on the course.”
Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, tied for second after an opening 67, had a 65 to drop into a tie for ninth at 8 under.
“Fairways and greens, hole a few more putts,” Thompson said. “That’s the goal.”
Defending champions Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both among the top five in the women’s world ranking, were 6 under after a 66.
U.S. Senior Open
Stewart Cink made up five shots over nine holes against Padraig Harrington in their head-to-head pairing at the U.S. Senior Open on Friday, leaving the major champions tied for the lead after their second rounds at the Broadmoor.
Both players head into the weekend at 6-under 134, though they got there much differently. Opening on the more difficult back nine, Harrington shot 31 to open his five-shot lead. Then, Cink shot his own 31 on the second nine to pull back into a tie.
Cink hit all 18 greens in regulation, making it 35 of 36 for the week. He called that stat overrated, especially at the Broadmoor, where the real test starts on the notoriously difficult-to-read greens that all cant away from a monument lurking above the course on Cheyenne Mountain.
“You don’t want to be chipping downhill on this course, it’s not a secret,” said the 52-year-old Cink, the 2009 British Open champion who is playing in his first U.S. Senior Open.
After Harrington shot 31 on the more difficult nine, then kept the lead at five with a birdie on the par-5 third, he was thinking there might be an opportunity to open a big lead heading into the weekend.
A pair of three-putts – one on the seventh and the other on the par-3 fourth green that has been slowed down to temper the severe slope – resulted in bogeys.
Cink hit his approach on the par-5 ninth to 45 feet and two-putted for birdie to get to 6 under. His first putt showed Harrington the line after the Irishman, the winner of the 2007 and ’08 British and 2008 PGA Championship, had short-sided himself in a greenside bunker, and he made his 20-footer for birdie and the tie.
“I got a lovely read off Stewart. I don’t think I would have given it as much break, so that was nice,” said Harrington, who won the U.S. Senior Open in 2022. “They’re the breaks you get when things are going well.”
Both players finished the round with dark clouds hovering, and the horn sounded right after they holed out, leading to a delay of about 60 minutes.
They finished the day two ahead of first-round co-leader Mark Hensby, whose afternoon round got delayed.
Y.E. Yang, the 2009 PGA champion, was still on the course at 2 under and a group of five with the same score were waiting to tee off.
