Pressel leads LPGA Championship after two rounds

Pressel leads LPGA Championship after two rounds










The Sports Xchange June 8, 2013 8:00 PMThe SportsXchange



PITTSFORD, N.Y.-- Morgan Pressel has teed it up 106 times in tournament play since her last victory in the 2008 Kapalua LPGA Classic.

She's positioned herself well to end that drought on Sunday in the Wegmans LPGA Championship, but there's a lot of work left to do on what will be a marathon day at Locust Hill Country Club.

There are 20 players within six shots of the lead, which sits at 6 under par after Pressel carded a 2-under 70 on Saturday in the second round. Rain washed out the first round on Thursday, meaning players will play 36 holes Sunday to complete the third and fourth rounds.

Starting on the 10th hole in the afternoon wave and dealing with an occasional downpour on her front nine,Pressel birdied three of her first five holes to move to 7 under. She dropped shots at the par-4 16th and 18th holes but steadied herself coming in by playing her final nine holes in 1 under, thanks to a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole.

There are several players giving chase, most notably world No. 1 Inbee Park. She tied for the day's low round with a 4-under 68 and is 4 under for the tournament, tied for second place with first-round leader Chella Choi. Those two will join Pressel for the final two rounds.

Park and Pressel played junior golf together in Florida, but lately their careers have gone in opposite directions. Pressel has just one top-10 this season, and Park has won three times, including the season's first major in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Asian-born players have won the last eight majors on the LPGA Tour, and if Pressel falters Sunday, they're in position to continue that streak. Including Park and Choi, six of the top 11 players on the leader board come from South Korea, with Amy Yang and Jiyai Shin in a tie for fourth at 3 under and Sun Young Yoo and Na Yeon Choi part of a tie for seventh at 2 under.

Just 13 players are under par after another cold, wet day.

NOTES: Tying Park for low round of the day with a 68 was Michelle Wie. She's at par for the championship and moved up 57 spots on the leader board, from a tie for 71st to a tie for 14th. ... World No. 2 Stacy Lewis, the top-ranked American, is in a tie for 31st at 2 over for the tournament after shooting par 72.