Inbee Park enjoyed a relatively stress-free morning while turning in a second straight round of 3-under-par 69. Then again, simply playing at Ko Olina tends to give the former world No. 1 a sense of ease at the LPGA Lotte Championship.
“I think this is probably the week where I play the most relaxed out of all the weeks,” Park said. “I just feel like I’m out here for the holiday and just playing golf. Just trying to have that thought every year I come here, and no matter what the result is I enjoy myself out here.”
Park, now No. 3 in the world, enters today’s play at 6 under and positioned for another strong showing in Hawaii. She’s finished in the top 12 in five of her previous six visits, placing in the top four three times.
“Since I was a little kid, my family always came to Hawaii for vacation,” Park said. “So it’s just like another home for me,” she said. “And even if it just gets windy, windy is fine because I’m used to it. This golf course plays weird without the wind.”
Wie flirts with cut line
A pair of bogeys on the front nine had Michelle Wie wondering what her weekend plans might be as she stood on the No. 10 tee. At plus 2 for the tournament and the cut coming in at plus 3, Wie carded back-to-back birdies at Nos. 10 and 11 to get back to even par for the tournament and a tie for 23rd.
Wie had some up-and-down moments over the next few holes, with a bogey at the 12th, a birdie at the par-5 13th and then a bogey at the relatively easy par-5 14th, thanks to an errant second shot that landed off the green near a tree root. She stubbed that shot and ended up in the bunker, then missed a twisty 6-footer for par to go back to 1 over for the tourney with four to play.
She continued her streak of no pars on the back nine with a nice birdie at the 15th to once again move to even — nothing but circles and squares through the first six holes at this point. She parred the next two before bogeying the last to shoot a 73 and a tie for 31st.
Inside the numbers
For the second straight day, the 18th hole was the most difficult, with a scoring average of 4.35. In the first round, the par-4 hole yielded no birdies among the field of 144 golfers. That number rose to 11 on Thursday to go along with 84 pars, 39 bogeys, five double bogeys and three at plus 3 or worse.
The easiest hole for the second straight day was the par-5 fifth with a scoring average of 4.77. There were four eagles, 45 birdies, 77 pars, 11 bogeys and five doubles. The first day, the average score was 74.64 in blustery conditions. The wind died down a bit on Thursday and the average dropped to 73.06.
After 36 holes, there were 23 golfers in the red, with 30 shooting par or better.
Two players withdraw
In Gee Chun withdrew from the tournament prior to the start of Thursday’s second round due to an undisclosed illness. She opened with a 2-over 74 and had a good chance of making the cut.
Haru Nomura also withdrew after the opening round due to a wrist injury. She opened with a 7-over 79 on Wednesday and had to go low Thursday to play in the final two rounds at breezy Ko Olina Golf Club.
