After starting in third place on Friday, Miyu Yamashita shot a stellar 65 (-7) to move into first place by three strokes at the AIG Women’s Open. She is the only player in the field to complete two bogey-free rounds.
Yamashita was in control today, missing one fairway and making seven birdies for her round of 65 (-7). She started her round with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. After a stretch of pars, Yamashita made four birdies in a five-hole stretch. A birdie on her final hole pushed her total for the week to 11-under. Yamashita credits her preparation for her three-shot lead going into the weekend.
“So, obviously I knew there was going to be a lot of wind around this golf course, it was going to be quite a difficult course to get around so, it’s something that my caddie and I have talked about in recent weeks to just make sure we’re prepared in the best way possible,” she said.
Yamashita is a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season, having acquired her membership through the LPGA Q-Series. The 13-time winner on the JLPGA Tour is seeking her first career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Rio Takeda is in second place by three shots after her round of 69 (-3). Takeda was not as sharp as Thursday, hitting 50% of fairways and 10 greens in her second round. Despite the numbers off the tee, Takeda made five birdies to give herself a shot going into the weekend.
Four players are tied for third place, seven shots off Yamashita and four shots off Takeda. Pajaree Anannarukarn, Chiara Tamburlini, Lindy Duncan and Laura Fuenfstueck sit at 4-under for the week. The four in third place will need a strong round on Saturday to have a shot at the lead on Sunday.
Stephanie Kyriacou made her first career hole-in-one from 105 yards on the par-3 eighth. She had this to say after her ace.
“I don’t know. I’m not tall enough to see over the wall. Yeah, a pretty good shot. I didn’t see it go in, which sucked, but the crowd went nuts, and I heard the flag. Didn’t damage the hole, which was surprising, so it was quite clean. But yeah, my first official hole-in-one with no asterisk. Pretty excited,” she said.
The third round at the AIG Women’s Open will resume tomorrow, with the final group of Yamashita and Takeda teeing off at 9:35am ET.
