Jing Yan leads Lottie Woad, Cassie Porter in pursuit of first LPGA win at Meijer LPGA
· Yahoo Sports
BELMONT, Mich. — Jing Yan’s bogey-free 66 on Friday at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give put her in a position she’s never held before — 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.
“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. “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.”
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Yan began her day on the back nine and capitalized on each of the par 5s, beginning at her first hole of the day, the par-5 10th, where she made birdie. Yan went on to birdie the three remaining par 5s on the course and made a critical up and down from the greenside bunker at the par-5 eighth for her final birdie of the day. 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 5s. “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 veteran who joined the tour in 2015 and has a single top-10 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 66 in which she missed just two fairways and three greens. Woad found the par 5s to be gettable as well, despite the blustery wind conditions that carried over from Day 1. Woad made birdie on four of the five par 5s to sit in pursuit of her second win in three starts on tour. Woad won her second career title at the Kroger Queen City Championship 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 to the LPGA 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. “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 by Minji Kang, who carded a 68 with a hole-in-one at the par-3 15th, followed by three consecutive birdies to finish her round. Kang hit a 7-iron to the 161-yard par 3 for her second career hole-in-one at Blythefield Country Club. She also made an ace at the par-3 11th 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. “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 7 under par by Ana Belac, Mary Liu, and Jenny Bae.
Jennifer Kupcho, winner of the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic, leads a pack of players at 6 under par.
The cut line fell at 2 under par, which sent home several notables including world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who posted rounds of 74-70 to sit at even par. 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 needs to earn membership on the LPGA, also missed the cut at 1 over.