Yan goes bogey-free on Friday in pursuit of first LPGA Tour victory
By Amy Rogers
BELMONT, Mich. – Jing Yan’s bogey-free round of 66 on Friday at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give put her in a position she’s never held before - with the lead on the LPGA Tour. Yan will look to maintain her position over the next 36-holes in an effort to win her first title on Tour.
“It's not a position that I've had too much experience with in the past, so I'm really excited and looking forward to being in this position,” Yan said about the opportunity to win this weekend.
“I feel like it's better to just play your game and try not think about it too much. But at the same time, learn to embrace it a little bit if you're nervy or struggle with that. I feel like in the past maybe I have been, so, yeah, just try to learn to embrace it and have fun with it.”
Yan began her day on the back nine and capitalized on each of the par fives, beginning at her first hole of the day, the par five, 10th where she made her first birdie of the day. Yan went on to birdie the three remaining par fives on the course and made a critical up and down from the greenside bunker at the par five, eighth hole for her final birdie of the day to take the outright lead through 36-holes. Friday, Yan matched the low round of the day despite missing five fairways and scrambled her way to the top of the leaderboard. She needed just 28 putts to take the solo lead at Blythefield Country Club.
“I think that depending on the wind it can really be to your advantage on some of the holes,” Yan said about her success on the par fives. “We have some gettable par-5s on this course and there is five of them, so better try and capitalize while you can.”
Yan is an LPGA Tour veteran who joined the Tour in 2015 and has a single top 10 on the LPGA Tour in the last five years, which came in April at the JM Eagle LA Championship. She’ll take a narrow one-stroke lead into the weekend in Michigan ahead of proven winner Lottie Woad and second-year member Cassie Porter.
Woad began her day on the back nine and posted a bogey-free round of 66 in which she missed just two fairways and three greens. Woad found the par fives to be gettable on day two despite the blustery wind conditions that carried over from day one. Woad made birdie on four out of the five par fives to sit in pursuit of her second win in three starts on the LPGA Tour. Woad won her second career victory at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in May.
“Been trying to get in contention a bit more. Feel like when I am in contention I've done pretty good so far, so just trying to keep that going,” Woad said about her strategy in recent weeks. “I mean, definitely some chances out there to go pretty low.”
While Woad and Porter are both in their second year and share second place at the Meijer LPGA Classic, there’s not much else they share in common when it comes to their professional journeys. Porter, who opened her week with rounds of 67-68, is a product of the Epson Tour, who is continuing to find her footing on the LPGA Tour while also pursuing her first win. Woad, on the other hand, came straight from Florida State University to the LPGA Tour by becoming the first player to earn status via the LEAP program and won in her Tour debut.
“Looking at the big picture. That's kind of my thing, just being able to stay grounded,” Porter said about the mindset she’ll lean on in pursuit of a first win this weekend in Michigan. “As long as I do all I can and what's in my control, that's all I can really do. I can't really control how other people play or the conditions. Just taking each moment, each shot as it comes. As I said, see how that places us on Sunday afternoon.”
First-round leader Yan Liu posted a 70 on Friday to remain in the hunt heading into the weekend. She sits two-strokes off the lead and was joined atop the leaderboard on day two by Minji Kang who carded a 68 with a thrilling finish to her round with a hole-in-one at the par three, 15th hole followed by three consecutive birdies. Kang hit a 7-iron to the 161-yard par three for her second career hole in one at Blythefield Country Club. She also made an ace at the par three, 11th hole in 2023. Friday’s ace is her fourth career hole-in-one.
“My back nine, I struggled on two par-3s before, but then I had a good shot with my 7-iron on that hole,” Kang said about her hole-in-one. “Didn't really expect going in, but all the people on the back was shouting and was so good.”
Rio Takeda matched the low round of the day with a 66 that included six birdies, offset by two bogeys, and a closing eagle to sit three strokes off the lead heading into the weekend. She’s joined at seven-under par by Ana Belac, Mary Liu, and Jenny Bae.
Jennifer Kupcho, winner of the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, leads a pack of players at six-under par who round out the top 10.
The cut line fell at two-under par, which sent home several notables including world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who posted opening rounds of 74-70 to sit at Even par through 36-holes. Three-time LPGA Tour winner Lauren Coughlin also missed the cut at Even par. Sponsor invite Kiara Romero, who was chasing a top 10 finish to earn the final two LEAP points she needed to earn membership on the LPGA Tour, also missed the cut at one-over par.
