Lee, Kemp and Smith playing weekend
Minjee Lee, Sarah Kemp (pictured) and Sarah Jane Smith all made the week-end in the Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada.
Lee is the leading Aussie, she has posted rounds of 69 and 66 to be at nine-under-par and just four back from the co-leaders, fourteen-time LPGA Tour winner Suzann Pettersen and Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe.
The pair sit atop a packed leaderboard at 13-under par and share the 36-hole lead at the Manulife LPGA Classic. The duo leads American Cristie Kerr (65-66) by one shot and has a large group of pursuers with 16 players within four shots of the lead. The cut line fell at 4-under par 140, the lowest 36-hole cut in LPGA Tour history.
Pettersen, whose last victory came at the 2013 Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship turned in a bogey-free 7-under 65 and has been playing well since returning from a left shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from the LOTTE Championship back in April. She tied for fifth in her first event back at the Kingsmill Championship and tied for 23rd last week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Pettersen only missed three fairways on Friday and hit every green.
“I think if you hit all the fairways you`re going to give yourself a lot of chances with your irons, so tried to be aggressive,” said Pettersen.
“The par 5s are very scoreable, you`ve just got to try and take care of business on those, and if you can squeeze in a birdie or two or three on the rest of the holes you`re in good position. So I felt like I did that today. Hitting the ball pretty good. Hit 18 greens I think, 17 yesterday, so plugging along nicely.”
Uribe, who is in her sixth year on Tour, also turned in a bogey-free scorecard and had three birdies on both the front and back nine to finish at 6-under. The Colombia native is playing for her first LPGA Tour win and knows she’ll have to be ready for a shootout on the weekend.
Kemp is continuing her good form, with rounds of 67 and 71 she is at six-under-par and shares 35th position. Smith made it on the cut number of four-under-par after rounds of two rounds of 70.
Unfortunately a number of notable players missed the cut including Australians Karrie (-1) and Katherine Kirk (E) and Americans Stacy Lewis (-2) and Morgan Pressel (-2).