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Korea’s Inbee Park gatecrashed the Michelle Wie show in impressive fashion during round two of the HSBC Women’s Champions at Sentosa Golf Club today. The Olympic Champion and 2015 winner carded an equal low round of the day of 5-under-par to go one shot clear at the halfway stage of the tournament.
Having just returned from a five-month lay-off, Park has taken no time to rediscover the kind of form that took her to Olympic glory last year. Finishing round two at 10-under-par, she said:
“It's a good round today. Obviously I got off to a very hot start. I was able to make some putts early in the round and then I had a little bit of a mistake on No. 12.
“I'm always dreaming of leading and holding the trophy by the end of the week. But obviously last week was my first start in a while, and I thought this week was going to be like a warm-up week for me. I knew that my long game was there last week, and I needed to work on my short game and my putting. It has been better this week and it is going in the right direction.”
In a tight leaderboard, overnight leader Wie of the U.S. is joined in second place by world no. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, and 34th ranked player, Mi Jung Hur of Korea at 9-under par.
Asked if she was satisfied with her performance in round two, Wie said: “For sure. Definitely was a patient round. I had a lot of putts that almost went in. Just kept patient out there today. Made a good birdie on the back nine. It was just a steady round.”
Adding, “I was just really excited [this morning]. Honestly, I woke up before my alarm clock, just ready to go, just being really excited to be out there, and feeling a little bit of nerves but mostly just excitement. ‘Good-to-be-back’ feeling, for sure.”
Coming into the tournament following a stellar year in 2016, Jutanugarn continues to look a real threat around the New Tanjong Course, carding 4-under-par for the day, and will be one to watch over the weekend.
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