The rain, clouds, and wind have been the main features this Friday at the Liberty National in New Jersey. Adverse weather conditions that have been successfully faced by, among others, the Spaniards Carlota Ciganda (-7) and Julia López (-7), who with rounds of 70 strokes each, are just one shot off the lead and head into the weekend fully in the fight for victory at the Mizuho Americas Open.
The player from Malaga, despite not being particularly precise off the tee and missing almost half of the greens in regulation, managed to minimise her errors and capitalise on almost every opportunity she created. With five birdies and three bogeys, she finishes the day tied in fourth position, surrounded by several of the best players on the tour and with every chance, with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.
Defending champion @NellyKorda is now co-leading at -8 💪
Tune in now on @GolfChannel! pic.twitter.com/ZASYXJgv1K
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 9, 2025
The same situation applies to the player from Navarre, who made a couple of bogeys in this second round, but thanks to greater accuracy with the driver and a good greens in regulation statistic, she achieved four birdies to stay in the fight. Carlota only needed to be a bit sharper with the putter and in some recoveries to have reached the tournament’s halfway point tied with the leaders.
Carlota felt she was lucky with the timing, as playing in the afternoon was more favourable: “It didn’t rain as much as they said and it was better than expected.” Despite the changing conditions, she was satisfied with her performance by achieving “many greens in regulation” and noted that the course, although “longer due to the drop in temperature,” favours long hitters.
2025 @MizuhoLPGA champion @NellyKorda is working hard to defend 😤
Tune in on @GolfChannel now! pic.twitter.com/2v1uJFCJuy
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 9, 2025
Andrea Lee (-8) was one of the most solid in this second round. She played in the morning session, under the rain, yet still managed to sign an impressive 68-stroke card, the only one of the day without bogeys, to climb to the top of the leaderboard. Alongside her are the South Korean Somi Lee (-8), who achieved the lowest score of the day with 67 strokes, and the American Nelly Korda (-8), who becomes the player to watch…
The World Number One, who achieved six victories in seven tournaments last year around this time, five of them consecutively, arrived this week at the Mizuho intending to make the most of the last title defence she has left in the series. Her tournament start was good, with 68 strokes. A result she repeated in this second round, with the same number of birdies, six, and bogeys, two, allowing her to face the last 36 holes with a chance to defend her title.
Korda highlighted that the weather conditions complicated her round, as there was “intermittent rain, cold, and some wind,” making it essential to “focus 100% on each shot.” After making two consecutive bogeys, she achieved a “mental reset” that allowed her to recover and take advantage of opportunities in the last nine holes, especially after the birdie on hole 1, which she considered “a good momentum change.”
Names like Celine Boutier (-7) or Jeeno Thitikul (-7), who started Friday as the leader, are keeping a close eye on the top three. There are up to 12 players within just a couple of strokes, so the weekend promises to be full of excitement in New Jersey. Two more rounds in which Fátima Fernández Cano (+3) will not be able to participate, as she played under par today but missed the cut by four strokes.
