SOUTHPORT, England -- Jeong Jang fired a 6-under 66 Friday to stay atop the leaderboard at the Women’s British Open. Jang stands at 10-under-par 134, four strokes clear of amateur Louise Stahle.
Players were able to complete their rounds at chilly Royal Birkdale Golf Club after stormy conditions -- including rain, wind and chilly temperatures in the 50s -- forced the suspension of play Thursday.
Annika Sorenstam shot 69 Friday, but fell eight back of the leader.
Thirty players who were still on the course when play was suspended, finished their opening rounds in the morning. The field averaged a 5-over-par 77 for the first round, but scores were better Friday and the cut was set at plus-5.
‘The conditions were awful yesterday. You know, 1 over yesterday felt like a 3-under round,’ said Cristie Kerr, who is alone in third place at 5-under-par 139 after shooting a 66 in the second round.
‘Today we only had, you know, light wind and a little bit of mist at the end, and we’re very fortunate with the conditions because it looks like it’s deteriorating.’
The 6-under rounds of Jang and Kerr were good, but Stahle fired one of just three 65s on the day to climb up the leaderboard. The 20-year-old amateur stands at 6-under-par 138 for the tournament.
‘I think I enjoy the pressure and the people watching. I think it’s fun and makes you play better,’ said Stahle, who is leaving Arizona State University to turn pro next week. ‘I’ve never been in this situation before, so I don’t know.’
Pat Hurst also shot a 7-under 65 Friday to move into fourth place at 4-under-par 140. Liselotte Neumann, Moira Dunn and Karrie Webb stand one stroke further back.
Annika Sorenstam, who is gunning for her third major win of the year and 10th overall, and 15-year-old amateur Michelle Wie are among a group of six golfers at 2-under-par 142.
Wie fell to plus-1 after badly missing a short par putt at the par-3 14th, but she recovered with birdies on three of her last four holes.
‘I was trying to end on a good note,’ said Wie. ‘I wanted to finish under par, and you know it just felt good that I birdied the last three par-5s.’
Jang, who said she’s playing on a links course for the first time, scored two of her seven birdies on the course’s four par-5s. She is seeking her first tour win.
‘I just have to not think about playing and just think about my golf and about the golf course and that I’m going to be okay,’ said the 25-year-old.
After opening her round with three consecutive pars, Jang strung together four straight birdies to get to 8 under. She dropped a shot at the par-4 eighth after coming up short of the green with her 7-wood and two-putting, but that was her only misstep of the day.
Birdies at Nos. 11, 14 and 15 gave Jang her 66 and a four-shot lead over Stahle, who had been in the clubhouse for a while when the leader finished.
Stahle followed up her 1-over 73 in the first round with a bogey-free effort. She collected the first of her seven birdies Friday at the par-4 first and picked up two more to make the turn at minus-2.
Birdies on the 12th and 14th -- both par-3s -- moved Stahle to 4 under. Two more birdies on Nos. 15 and 18 gave her one of the best rounds of the day, and her career.
‘It’s 64, at a college event in Tucson,’ Stahle said of her best-ever round. ‘I think it was a par-72, but [this is] definitely the lowest score in a professional event.’
Kris Lindstrom shot the day’s other round of 65, following her 81 in the first round with a solid effort to finish Friday at 2-over-par 146.
The 5-over-par cut cost several big names a shot at the weekend. Rosie Jones (153), U.S. Women’s Open champion Birdie Kim (153), Meg Mallon (155) and the tour’s second-leading money winner, Lorena Ochoa (159), all missed the 36-hole cut.
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