Hyo Joo Kim (-11) holds the solo lead without too much trouble at the Fortinet Founders Cup, the first regular tournament of the LPGA Tour season played in the United States and also the first with a full field. Here they all are. None of the top players are missing.
The Korean remains in first position largely thanks to that opening Thursday round where she posted a fabulous nine-under-par. She hasn’t been able to keep the same continuity, mainly because she hasn’t had the same touch on the greens as on day one, but she has been solid enough to consolidate and extend her lead.
Kim has a four-shot advantage over the Mexican Gaby López (-7) and five over a large group of seven players that includes the cream of world golf. It’s as if the alarm had been sounded on the second day. Perfectly placed for the assault are Jeeno Thitikul (-6), Nelly Korda (-6) and Minjee Lee (-6). Heavy artillery. Thitikul carded a 66 and Korda returned a 68. They promise a battle for the weekend. Kim had better not look back.
And amid this galaxy of world top-10s a confident Spanish player has made her mark: Carla Tejedo (-5). The Castellón golfer, in her LPGA Tour debut, shot a second round of 69, with five birdies and two bogeys, to move into a tie for tenth, alongside, among others, the most recent major winner, the Japanese Miyu Yamashita (-5).
Carla again played very solid golf from tee to green. She hit ten fairways and 14 greens. She made very few mistakes and, above all, struck very good irons, as shown by that two-under score on the day on the par-3s. She is just one shot off third place. Last year on the Epson Tour she already showed she has the steel to take it to anyone, and it didn’t take her long to make that clear on the LPGA Tour.
Carla shone on a grey, tough day for the rest of the Spanish players. The day was especially cruel for two of them: Julia López (+4) and Carolina Chacarra (+3). Julia, inside the top 10 after the first round, suffered one of those short-circuits that sometimes happen in golf and are devastating. She was playing a fairly controlled round. She was level for the day, three under overall, after 10 holes. However, from the 2nd hole onwards (she started on the 10th) everything collapsed. She carded a seven-over-par stretch over the next six holes. Her round fell apart and she missed the cut. Ten strokes worse than the previous day.
As for Carolina, she missed the weekend because of a disastrous final hole. She also started on the 10th and finished with a triple bogey at the 9th that left her outside the cut. She arrived at that last hole on the number (par was needed to play the weekend) and was left out after that big stumble.
Finally, Carlota Ciganda (+4) ended her participation at the Founders Cup with an even-par round, improving the tee-to-green feel, something that will surely help for upcoming events, and Azahara Muñoz (+4) finished with another 74.
Also missing the cut were Jennifer Kupcho, Yealimi Noh, Madelene Sagstrom, Allisen Corpuz, Mimi Rhodes, Maja Stark and Albane Valenzuela. Julia wasn’t the only example of a round that fell apart. The same happened to the German Polly Mack. She finished Thursday among the leaders and missed the cut with a 79
