Ko and Doherty share 36-hole lead in Cincinnati

Leaderboard

By Amy Rogers

CINCINNATI – A shift in weather conditions led to lower scores on day two of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G at Maketewah Country Club. Friday morning, Mother Nature ushered in warmer temperatures and lighter winds, which allowed former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko to make a shift of her own to the top of the leaderboard with a bogey-free, four-under par, 66. Ko was joined atop the leaderboard on Friday evening by Amanda Doherty, who posted a 66 of her own to move into a share of the 36-hole lead in Cincinnati.

Ko’s consistency through the first two rounds comes as a surprise given her struggles in recent years. Plagued by a series of injuries, Ko says she had become quite fearful that she would make a mistake on the golf course. This week, Ko has strived to play fearlessly by telling herself to ‘be brave’ and to play like her younger self.

“I think I had some scared to play because I want to be better then better. I would say I’m a perfection person. That’s why I don’t want make mistakes on the course,” Ko said after having a conversation with her husband last week at the Mizuho Americas Open. “But after I heard that I’m being a human, so I can make mistakes on the course and just be acceptable. Just trying having fun like 10-years old like Jin Young.”

The two-time major winner heads into the weekend of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in search of her first top 20 finish of the season and with the hope of returning to the winner’s circle for the first time on the LPGA Tour since 2023.

The highlight of Doherty’s day came at the par four, 13th hole where she had a difficult time holding the fairway with the draw she typically plays. Doherty’s ball trundled into the first cut where she had a nasty lie and she says was lucky to even find the putting surface with her second shot. Doherty left herself a 25-footer for birdie and said she was just hoping to lag close for a two-putt par when she ended up finding the bottom of the cup to climb within one of the lead.

To this point in the season, Doherty has split her time between the LPGA and Epson Tours and this week in the Queen City is making just her third start of the season on the LPGA. A month ago, Doherty wouldn’t have been in the field this week, but she played her way in thanks to the LPGA Tour’s mid-season reshuffle and with her top-20 finish in Mexico.

“I’m just excited to be teeing it up this week after the reshuffle in Mexico,” Doherty said after her round on Friday. “I’m just going with that mindset I think and just happy to be here.”

Doherty and Ko lead Lottie Woad, who carded the low round of the week with a 6-under par, 64 on Friday. Woad lamented hitting just 10 of 14 fairways, but added that there are multiple holes, including the par four, 4th hole and par four, 13th hole where she says it’s impossible to hold the fairway with her tee shot. Overall, Woad says the calm conditions made the course more scoreable as she gave up just a single three-putt bogey at the par four, 6th hole to sit one-stroke off the lead through 36-holes.

“Definitely hit it better off the tee. I think I only hit like three fairways yesterday, but there is a few that you can’t actually hold so it’s not as bad as it sounds,” said Woad about her first two days at Maketewah.  “Today I hit more fairways and just hit really good approaches.”

Lydia Ko’s climb to 5-under par saw her put together two very different nines on her way to a round of 67 on Friday.

The winner of the 2024 Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G began her day on the back nine and stumbled early to go two-over through her first eight holes, but she was able to shift her momentum at the par 3, 18th hole by hitting a 7-iron to 20 feet, which she rolled straight up and into the hole for birdie to reset her round. Ko added four more birdies on her second nine for a round of 67 to sit two-strokes off the lead.

“I think holing that putt on 18 was kind of nice to feel like, ‘okay, I can make a birdie,’” Ko said about the pivotal change to her round. “The only difference was that I just holed a couple more putts coming in. Sometimes those par saves and that momentum is probably the biggest thing that kind of gets you going. I feel like I was just able to do that a lot better after 18.”

Nelly Korda leads a pack of players at four-under par. The world No. 1 posted a 67 on Friday and displayed a wry smile when asked about the state of her game through the first two days at Maketewah where she says her ball striking hasn’t been up to her standards.

“There has definitely been some loose shots,” said Korda, who has hit 53 percent of the fairways through 36-holes. “Not really happy with the way I’m hitting it right now, but overall, I mean, I’m not complaining with the position I’m in. Hopefully, I can go figure something out again on the range after today.”

Also at four-under par sit world No. 2 Jeeno Thitkul, two-time LPGA Tour winner Rio Takeda, major champion Jennifer Kupcho, and first round co-leader Chella Choi.

The cut line fell at two-over par, which sent home several notables including Chizzy Iwai (+3), Lauren Coughlin (+4), and Auston Kim (+7).

Fan Zone offers fun-filled, family activities for spectators to enjoy

By Amy Rogers

CINCINNATI – Cheers erupted from behind the ninth green at Maketewah Country Club on Friday morning. It wasn’t one of the competitors in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G that was creating the buzz, but a fan who was trying their hand at the Kroger Freshest Putt, a 30-foot challenge that would earn a lucky recipient a $250 Kroger gift card.

“Let’s go Carol!” her friends cheered loudly as they watched her roll her putt down the long and narrow platform toward the hole. Seconds later an enormous wave of applause broke out, this time from the PainQuil Public Viewing Deck behind the ninth green, where Lindy Duncan had just holed her pitch from off the putting surface.

The Kroger Freshest Putt is one of more than a dozen offerings housed within the Fan Zone behind the ninth green at Maketewah Country Club. Kroger has a large presence within the zone, with not just its putting challenge, but also the Simple Truth Our Brands Trailer that features several different Kroger brands that can be found at their grocery stores.

Fans can also try to guess the number of Kroger and P&G items within the Kroger mega-cart, and whoever has the closest guess will also win a $250 gift card to Kroger. What makes the challenge that much sweeter is that all the items within the cart will be donated to a local school pantry upon conclusion of the tournament on Sunday. It’s one of the many ways that Kroger hopes its participation in the LPGA Tour stop is a reminder to Cincinnati and the greater community of its dedication to giving back to local residents.

“I’m hoping that people will come in and see that Kroger is a huge supporter of the community,” said Danielle Gentry, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Kroger. “And that we have healthy foods for them to try and that we’re continuing to think of ways to help them save money on their food and their groceries and things that they need everyday.”

All participants in the Kroger Freshest Putt receive a 50 percent off coupon to join Boost, Kroger’s food delivery service that also features a streaming service as well as additional discounts.

“Kroger is the largest traditional grocery store in the country, and yet, we are still making sure we’re showing up in our communities everyday,” Gentry said. “We’re still that hometown grocery for people to come and experience the friendly cashier, to make sure they’re getting their bags carried to their car to make sure they’re finding affordable prices. I think those things are important.”

In addition to Kroger, food trucks offering local favorites like Skyline Chili also line the perimeter of the Fan Zone. Returning again this season are several fan favorites from P&G including Beauty on the Green, which offers free drystyling with products from Pantene, Head and Shoulders, and Aussie Hair Care. Nearly half the styling chairs were full on Friday morning where one woman was receiving a pair of pigtail braids while a mom cradling her baby enjoyed a relaxing moment while having her hair styled for the day.