Skip to content

LPGA notebook: Shin’s 62 doesn’t guarantee victory

AuthorAuthor
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

The LPGA’s history at Kingsmill indicates Thursday’s tournament-record 62 guarantees Jiyai Shin little.
The previous record of 8-under-par 63 was established by Kim Williams in 2004 and matched six times. Of those seven players, only Cristie Kerr in 2009 went on to win the tournament.
Here’s how all the 63s fared:
– Williams followed her record second-round with scores of 78 and 75 to tie for 12th.
– Sarah Lee followed her first-day 63 in 2008 with rounds of 68, 72 and 74 and tied for third, two shots out of the playoff between Jee Young Lee and eventual winner Suzann Pettersen.
– Jee Young Lee’s 63 came during the third round and gave her a four-shot lead over Pettersen. But her 1-over 72 Sunday dropped her into the playoff.
– Mhairi McKay opened with a 63 in 2008, but subsequent rounds of 77, 73, and 72 relegated her to a 50th-place tie.
– Shi Hyun Ahn’s record-equalizer came during the final round in 2008 and vaulted her into a 12th-place tie.
– Song-Hee Kim and Kerr shot Friday 63s in 2009. Kerr followed with a 66 and 70 to win by two strokes. Kim’s weekend 68 and 71 left her tied for third, three behind Kerr.

Change of heart
Azahara Munoz, who finished Thursday’s first round at 6-under 65, said she considered skipping the Kingsmill Championship to have a two-week break heading into the Women’s British Open.
“I think I said that to Sophie Gustafson and she said, ‘No you have to go to Kingsmill, it’s so amazing there.’ So I guess I changed my plans and I’m happy I did. It’s great. The golf course is one of the best we play all year. Fans are really good, all volunteers, and so far everything has been great.”

Scoreboard glitch
For less than five minutes, Kristy McPherson was leading — at least according to the online live scoreboard at lpga.com.
McPherson suddenly was shown as the leader at 7-under. She had been at 3-under. The real-time scoring showed her with a hole-in-one on the 473-yard, par-5 15th.
Turns out McPherson shot par to stay at 3-under.
The glitch, LPGA Tour officials said, was caused by a volunteer accidentally keying in the wrong result.
The leaderboard was updated within minutes of the error. McPherson finished 1-under 70.

Notes
Cydney Clanton, who shot a 4-over 75, handed golf balls to the volunteers with her group on the course. “Thank you for walking with us,” she told the pair. …
One of the largest galleries Thursday was for the grouping of two-time Kingsmill champ Cristie Kerr (72), top-ranked American Stacy Lewis (69) and Ai Miyazato (67). Originally scheduled to tee off at 12:40, they were delayed two hours by weather. …
Maria Hjorth, who shot 6-under 65, has her husband on the bag for the tournament. “It’s just a great feeling working together,” she said. “The last time we worked together we had a win, so hopefully we can … keep the tradition going.”
[subhead]Quotable
Christina Kim on the LPGA Tour returning to Kingsmill: “These people, they know what they’re doing. They love golf and they’re passionate about it. They’re grateful to have us here, though I don’t know why. We’re taking up all their tee times.”
— Compiled by David Teel and Andi Petrini