There are things that don’t quite add up. One of them is that someone like Charley Hull (-16), the solo leader of the Kroger Queen City Championship with 18 holes to go, has gone more than 1,000 days without winning a tournament on the LPGA Tour. Even more surprising is that she has only two wins in her career on the American circuit. Obviously, this fact, which will surprise more than a few, indicates two things. The first is that Hull, a world top 10, finds it difficult to close out victories. The other is that it is really tough to win on the LPGA. Therefore, on a Saturday like this, it’s important to properly appreciate the three victories that Carlota Ciganda has on this circuit.
Hull will start this Sunday with a one-shot lead as the solo leader at TPC River’s Bend, a course located in Hamilton Township, Ohio, which is making its debut this year as the tournament venue. Interestingly, the flamboyant English golfer has already played (and lost) a playoff in this tournament, albeit at a different venue. She fell to Minjee Lee.
Charley hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since 2022. It’s true that she did win last year on the Ladies European Tour, and not just any tournament, the Aramco in Saudi Arabia, but it still seems a modest haul for her stature as a player. Be that as it may, victory won’t come easy this Sunday. Hot on her heels is Jeeno Thithikul (-15), World Number One, Chisato Iwai (-14), who wins consistently, and Miyu Yamashita (-14), the latest major champion in women’s golf. Serious competition. Additionally, three shots back, with still something to say, are Nelly Korda (-13) or Bianca Pagdanganan (-13), among others. So, it’s not going to be easy.
Julia López (-11) has delivered a brilliant moving day. She shot 67, with a very special sequence of five birdies between holes 7 and 13. Until the 15th hole, she was six under par without bogeys. However, she stumbled twice on holes 15 and 17 and finished, nonetheless, with a birdie to place herself very close to the top 10. So close that she is just one shot away from that goal.
The golfer from Málaga displayed great golf this Saturday, although her best performance was in putting. She only needed 25 putts on the greens to complete the 18 holes. In this area, she gained strokes on the rest of the players.
The downside of the day was for the leader after the second round. The Thai Chanette Wannasaen (-10) faltered with a round of 75. She lost 20 positions and, above all, was left with no chance of winning the tournament. Let’s remember that Azahara Muñoz, who was also playing the Kroger Queen City, missed the cut on Friday.
