Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Ha Na Jang stood at 11-under par on Friday
when the second round of the JTBC Founders Cup was suspended due to darkness.
Jang was 7-under par through 11 holes of round two.
Hyo Joo Kim was the clubhouse leader at 10-under-par 134. She posted a 3-under
69 in the second round.
Stacy Lewis, who led by one when the first round was completed earlier Friday,
managed a 1-under 71 in round two and she shares third place at minus-9. Lewis
was joined there by Kim Kaufman, who was 3-under par through 12 holes of her
second round at Wildfire Golf Club.
Karine Icher (70), Mi Hyang Lee (66) and Ilhee Lee (67) are tied for fifth
place at 8-under-par 136. Defending champion Karrie Webb (70) is one of four
players finished two rounds at 7-under-par 137.
Seven more players, including world No. 1 Lydia Ko, also stand at minus-7, but
are the middle of their second rounds.
The first round was delayed four hours by rain on Thursday and the tournament
has been trying to catch up since. The second round will resume on Saturday
morning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Jang played the back nine first in round two. After an opening par, she
birdied the 12th. Jang moved to 7-under thanks to back-to-back birdies at 13
and 14.
The Coates Golf Championship runner-up converted a birdie effort at the 17th.
Jang followed with birdies at 18, one and two. That burst moved her into the
lead before play was called for the day
Kim parred her first four holes before getting on the board with a birdie at
the par-5 fifth. She followed with six consecutive pars from the sixth.
The reigning Evian Championship winner faltered to a bogey at the 12th, but
she got that stroke right back with a birdie on the 13th. Kim climbed into the
clubhouse lead after making birdies at 16 and 17 before she parred the 18th to
close out her round.
“I just played relaxed and I thought to myself, hit it soft, and that’s the
key for me. Because I came (here) early this morning, I was very tired,” said
Kim. “I was worried last night about doing 30 holes (today).”
Lewis played the back nine first in round two and she birdied the 15th to go
with a bogey on No. 18. After back-to-back birdies at four and five, Lewis
stumbled to a bogey on the sixth. She capped her round with three straight
pars.
“Those rounds, I made nine birdies (in round one), it’s always hard to follow
that,” Lewis said. “And I knew that going in (to round two) that it was going
to be tough. I didn’t do too much different other than I just got on the wrong
side of the hole. The first round, I basically gave myself a lot of uphill
putts, and then it was downhill, sidehill swingers. You’re not going to make
very many of them. Just got on wrong side of the hole, and still under par.”
NOTES: Jang led after 36 holes at both the Women’s Australian Open and the
Coates Golf Championship, but failed to win either … Lewis has finished
inside the top-11 in all four of her starts this season.
