Julia López (-6) has lost some ground in the second round of the Kroger Queen City Championship, a tournament on the LPGA Tour held at TPC River’s Bend in Hamilton Township, Ohio. The golfer from Málaga delivered a rather eventful scorecard of 71 strokes. She made four birdies, a double bogey, and a bogey. The double bogey came on the 7th hole, three from the end, as she started on the 10th. It was there that she lost ground and went from being on the edge of the top 10 to the top 25.
In any case, it’s another round under par and she hasn’t said her last word yet. She is three strokes away from the top 10, which is not a big difference with three holes ahead. The key to the second round was from tee to green. The player from Benahavís wasn’t as sharp as in the first round and couldn’t leave herself as many birdie opportunities. She needs a great moving day to give herself a chance of victory on Sunday.
Julia is currently seven strokes behind the lead held by Thai golfer Chanette Wannasaen (-13), a golfer who already knows what it means to win on the LPGA Tour. In fact, she claimed victory at the Dana Open in 2024, also leading after the second round with the same number of accumulated strokes: 131. For now, history repeats itself. Her goal is for it to remain the same until Sunday.
Wannasaen, however, will have to perform very well in the remaining 36 holes, as there are really dangerous players in her wake, starting with her compatriot and World Number One Jeeno Thitikul (-11), second place two strokes behind. Thitikul is tied with Olivia Cowan and Charley Hull. Three strokes behind are Sei Young Kim, Maja Stark, and Gigi Stoll. In other words, seven players separated by only three strokes. A lot of parity.
The bad news from this second round has been the missed cut by Azahara Muñoz (+1). The golfer from Málaga finished three strokes away from the cut. Really, at no point did she have a real chance of being in the battle for all four days. She lacked continuity in birdies. Every time she gained a stroke on the course, a setback soon followed. She lacked a rhythm of birdies. She made 72 strokes. She misses an opportunity to keep adding to save her card, but she still has it perfectly within reach. She currently occupies the 104th position in the Race to CME Globe and remains with full category for the top 100.
