| LEADERBOARD | ||
| Carlota Ciganda | -8 | 69-67 |
| Hye-Jin Choi | -8 | 69-67 |
| Celine Boutier | -8 | 68-68 |
| Karis Davidson | -8 | 66-70 |
| Lexi Thompson | -7 | 68-69 |
| Nanna Koerstz Madsen | -7 | 69-68 |
| Sofia Garcia | -7 | 66-71 |
| Amanda Doherty | -7 | 68-69 |
| Minjee Lee | -7 | 67-70 |
By Roy J. Akers – www.skyviewsports.netFour share lead on windy second day at the Meijer LPGA Classic
By Amy Rogers
The lead never moved on a cool and windy day at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. The tough scoring conditions on day two at Blythefield Country Club saw the lead remain the same as it had been on day one, but there was a change in the names atop the leaderboard.
During the morning wave on Friday it was Carlota Ciganda, Celine Boutier, and Hye-Jin Choi who best navigated the blustery weather to make a move up a jam-packed leaderboard heading into the weekend at the Meijer LPGA Classic. In the afternoon, it was Karis Davidson who joined the pack in a tie at the top at 8-under par through 36-holes.
“I definitely feel like today you had to take into account the wind a little bit more,” said Boutier, who opened with back-to-back rounds of 68. “Even putting and stuff, sometimes you have to back out a little bit because it was kind of gusty.”
It wasn’t the first time this season that Boutier had to battle the wind as she dealt with similar weather at Liberty National Golf Club, where she finished second in the Mizuho Americas Open. The Frenchwoman’s ability to navigate the tough conditions was just another signal of Boutier’s return to form as this weekend at the Meijer LPGA Classic she looks to get back in the winner’s circle for the first time since her breakout, four-win season in 2023.
Ciganda opened with rounds of 69-67 to give herself a chance at winning for the first time since 2016. Ciganda has been on a run of good form with four top 10s in her last six starts. She’s consistently played well at Blythefield, where she has four top 10s, including a playoff loss to Sei Young Kim in 2016. Friday, Ciganda began her day on the back nine and managed seven birdies, offset by two bogeys to make a move up the leaderboard.
“You have five par-5s that you can score there, and then you have some downwind holes as well that you can make a few birdies,” said Ciganda, who is five-under par on the par 5s through 36-holes. “At the same time the greens are firmer than other years for sure and you still have to hit good shots, good putts. I always feel comfortable on this golf course. I enjoy coming here and I seem to do well here.”
Friday morning, Choi went out in 32 and gave up a single bogey over the course of the day en route to carding a round of 67. Choi has been on a hot streak in recent weeks. She arrived at the Meijer LPGA Classic coming off back-to-back top four finishes. She has managed to keep that momentum rolling through the first 36-holes in Michigan, where she’s making her fourth appearance.
“Today the goal for my round was to be bogey-free, and I tried to be very calm during the round, so it was a good round today,” Choi said about her second round. “I had a lot of chances, but I missed some. I tried to be calm during the round, and I made two good birdies on the last two holes.”
Davidson was the only player in the afternoon wave who was able to catch the morning leaders. The Aussie followed up her opening round of 66 with a solid round of 70, punctuated by birdies at Nos. 16 and 18 to lift her into a tie atop the leaderboard in her tournament debut.
“This is the first time I’ve been tied first in an LPGA event after two rounds, so, yeah, I’m just really excited that I wasn’t fighting for the cut,” Davidson said about her position atop the leaderboard. “You know, it was a bit of a different feeling out there. Really looking forward to the weekend.”
Grace Kim, who sat one off the lead after day one, closed with back-to-back bogeys after flirting with the lead multiple times throughout her round but settled for a 1-over par round of 73 to sit two-strokes off the lead. First-round leader Mi Hyang Lee followed up her thrilling opening round of 64 with a disappointing round of 75 on Friday to fall three-back of the lead.
Lexi Thompson leads a chasing pack at 7-under par. The winner of the 2015 Meijer LPGA Classic made a move on Friday with three birdies in her last four holes to climb within one stroke of the lead. Thompson rolled in a putt from long range at the difficult par four, 17th and then relied on her power to muscle her second shot out of the rough at the par five, 18th hole to close out her day with a fourth birdie of the day and a round of 69.
“There was a few par saves that were important to keep me into it. Two putting on 9 for bogey I think was big,” said Thompson, whose putter grew hot over the course of the round. “And just staying patient after that because there are birdie holes out there. But it got really windy, so playing for bounce-out too into the greens, they’re not super soft, but just staying patient and knowing the few birdie holes are out there and really just committing to your shots.”
Also at 7-under par through 36-holes are Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Bronte Law, Minjee Lee, Sofia Garcia, and Amanda Doherty. They’re part of a talent-filled leaderboard that has 39 players within five strokes of the lead, which includes Megan Khang (-5), Anna Nordqvist (-4), Stacy Lewis (-3), Brittany Lincicome (-3), and Brooke Henderson (-3).
The cut line fell at 1-under par, which left several notables unable to advance to the weekend of the Meijer LPGA Classic including major champions Jin Young Ko (E), Amy Yang (+3), Danielle Kang (+4), Yani Tseng (+7), and defending champion Lilia Vu (+8).
