Julia López (-5) is back at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. The Spanish golfer has delivered a magnificent card of 66 strokes in the second round of the LPGA Tour tournament held at the Sentosa Golf Club and has once again entered the battle for everything. Including the victory? Yes, including.
The Benahavís golfer has placed herself in eleventh position, four strokes behind the lead held by American Auston Kim (-9). There are 36 holes ahead, meaning Julia’s bid for victory is perfectly presented. She will need to play very well on Saturday and Sunday, that’s obvious, but at least she has given herself a chance coming from nowhere in the standings.
Let’s remember that she started Thursday with a round of +1. Absolute coldness. Especially on the greens. Well, today has been the opposite. The Málaga player has heated up. Her start to the day was spectacular. Those things that this golfer, who was the Number One amateur in the world, can do. She started on the 10th and on her second hole, the first birdie fell. From there, unleashed. Four consecutive birdies and one more on the 16th for a fabulous partial of five under in seven holes.
López added two more birdies on holes 1 and 6 and closed the account of successes and mistakes with her only bogey of the day on the 8th hole. A slightly bitter final taste, although it should not overshadow her magnificent day of golf. In fact, it was the third-best card of the day, only surpassed by the 64 strokes delivered by Minjee Lee (-8), who has placed second, and Angel Yin (-6), who has moved into ninth position.
Really, the standings with two days to go are very tight. Kim has one stroke over Minjee, Ariya Jutanjugarn, and Haeran Ryu, and two over a group of four players composed of Hannah Green, Nanna Madsen, Linn Grant, and Mimi Rhodes. Special mention for the latter. She is playing her first LPGA Tour tournament since becoming a full member and has already entered the battle for victory. Just a year ago, she won her first tournament on the Ladies European Tour in Australia. The precocity of this Englishwoman raised in Sotogrande knows no bounds.
The key to Julia’s great round has been the putter. The Málaga player felt much more comfortable than on Thursday on the greens, something that is not happening to Carlota Ciganda (+3). The Navarrese player made 73 strokes, with four birdies, three bogeys, and a double bogey. She needed 32 putts. She remains at the bottom of the standings, although she still has a couple of days ahead to improve results and, above all, sensations.
The Number One in the world, Jeeno Thitikul (-1), has also not managed to get going. She should not be ruled out yet because she can sign a really low weekend and still give herself some chance, but she has certainly made it very difficult. She occupies the 33rd position after signing 69 strokes today. The playing conditions today on the Tanjong course at Sentosa have been more manageable, as evidenced by lower rounds than on Thursday.
