CANADIAN LEBLANC STAYS A SHOT
AHEAD ON SYMETRA TOUR
FROM THE LPGA SYMETRA TOUR WEBSITE
LAKE WALES, FLORIDA: Canada's Maude-Aimee
Leblanc shot an even-par 72 in the second-round of the Florida’s Natural
Charity Classic on Saturday to remain at 5-under-par for the tournament
and maintain a one-stroke lead with a 36-hole tally of 139.
Leblanc got off to a strong start with a birdie on the first hole.
She made four total birdies on the front nine to move to 8-under for the
tournament at the turn.
The tides turned on the back nine quickly when she made bogey on the
tenth hole. After three straight pars, Leblanc made double bogey on the
par-4 14th hole.
“It was not as good as yesterday, I didn’t make as many putts,” said
Leblanc. “The greens were very tough to read again and I just made a
couple bad swings on the back nine and it cost me a double bogey on
14.”
Leblanc finished her round with four straight pars to stay at 5-under-par for the tournament.
“Even par is not that bad and I’m still in contention, so I can’t be too disappointed.”
Leblanc, who led by two strokes after day one, will take a slim one stroke lead into Sunday.
“I’ll just try to focus on what I do best and keep a good tempo,
today I struggled a bit with my tempo and my swing,” said Leblanc, who
won a National Championship at Purdue in 2010.
“Tomorrow, I need to
just stay relaxed and smooth and just play as if I was playing back
home.”
The recipe for her first tournament win in her first Symetra Tour event will be simple.
“If a can drop a couple putts, I’ll be in good shape.”
Jackie Stoelting, Karlin Beck and Yueer Cindy Feng are tied for second at 4-under-par 140 for the tournament.
Stoelting fired a 2-under-par 70 to close the gap on Leblanc.
“It feels good to back in contention,” said Stoelting, who entered
the round tied for fourth. “A couple years ago I finished second here
so I’m kind of ready to hopefully get a win out here tomorrow.”
Stoelting made birdie on the first and second holes to build
momentum. However, she proceeded to par the next nine holes. After a
birdie on number 12, Stoelting gave two shots back on the 14th and 16th holes.
“I started off really well by making birdie on my first two holes and
thought it was going to be one of those days that I would shoot way
under,” said Stoelting. “To be honest, it was probably the most
frustrating under-par round I have ever shot."
In her 65th career Symetra Tour event, Stoelting will be aiming for her first win.
“I’m just going to stick to my same game plan and take it one shot at
a time,” said Stoelting. “I’m also going to play more aggressive, I
didn’t birdie a single par-5 today and I think I lost that to the field
so tomorrow hopefully I can take advantage of those par-5 holes.”
Stoelting has 11 career top-10 finishes including one runner-up result in 2011 and two third-place finishes in 2013.
“To win would mean everything, obviously were out here to get our LPGA
Tour card and a win could change my year with where I’m going to play,”
said Stoelting, who has conditional LPGA Tour status.
“I’ve come really
close to winning so to finally be able to get that off my shoulder
would be awesome.”
Karlin Beck used a 2-under-par 70 to move into a tie for second
place. She birdied the third and fourth holes and made the turn at
3-under for the day. Beck birdied the tenth hole before making a double
bogey on the 14th.
“It was a really solid round, just one hiccup on 14, but other than
that it was in the fairways, hitting greens and making putts,” said the
third-year Symetra Tour player Beck. “I hit it better off the tee
today, which was good for confidence ball-striking.”
In 17 career Symetra Tour events, Beck has never finished in the top-10.
“I’ve been playing great, so it is nice to see the results, but I
don’t want to get ahead of myself because we still have a full round
left,” said the former Auburn Tigers golfer Beck. “I’m just going to
come out tomorrow and try to play solid and keep calm.”
Seven players are currently three shots off the lead at 2-under-par.
Amateur Kelly Shon fired a 3-under-par 69 to move within striking
distance. She is currently at 1-under for the tournament, which is good
for a tie for 12th place.
Shon is currently a senior (fourth year) student at Princeton University. She was the 2013 Ivy League Player of the Year.
The cut was made at 6-over-par 150. A total of 76 players made the cut and will play on Sunday. England's Katie Mundy (157) and Rachel Connor (161) failed to make it but Channel Islander Olivia Jordan-Higgins will play the final round after a 74 for 147 and a share of 33rd place.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72) Players from USA unless stated
139 Maude-Aimee Leblanc (Canada) 67 72
140 Karlin Beck 70 70, Yueer Cindy Feng (China) 70 70, Jackie Stoelting 70 70
142 Emma de Groot (Australia) 76 66, Amy Meir 74 68, Laura Gonzalez-Escallon (Belgium) 73 69, Rebecca Artis (Australia) 70 72, Emily Talley 70 72, Jessi White 70 72, Ginger Howard 69 73.
SELECTED SCORE
147 Olivia Jordan-Higgins (Channel Islands) 73 74 (T33)
MISSED THE CUT (150 and better qualified)
157 Katie Mundy (England) 80 77
161 Rachel Connor (England) 78 83.
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