Hye-Jin Choi did not play a clean game on Friday, yet she sits atop the leaderboard at The Annika. She opened with two bogeys and fought back to shoot a 3-under 67. Carlota Ciganda and Lindy Duncan shared the lead with her based on that score. Meanwhile, the world’s number one player, Nelly Korda, posted a flawless but useless 69. Korda made 17 pars and just one birdie. She sits four shots behind the leaders.
Choi has been chasing her first win for five years. She was a runner-up in the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open as a teenager. She has had other close calls in Asia recently. Her round on Friday was not pretty, but it worked. She missed the start badly but hit a 15-foot eagle putt on the seventh hole to get back in the hunt. According to ESPN, she wasn’t rattled by the early errors. She played in the group with Korda for the first two rounds, which she believes helped calm her nerves for the weekend. That experience matters more than a perfect scorecard.
The Wind Defense Works
The wind at Pelican Golf Club is the real story here. It turned the course into a test of putting speed. Korda admitted she struggled on the greens despite hitting good putts. She told reporters, “I had a lot of chances,” but the conditions made scoring hard. Korda noted, “But you can just tell that from yesterday morning to today afternoon with the wind, that’s what the defense of this golf course is. It’s as fast as Bermuda as I’ve putted on throughout my career.” The fast greens and shifting wind required adaptation. Choi adapted. Birdying her final four holes for a 63, Ciganda also joined the lead.
Scoring was low enough that a 1-under 139 made the cut. The year’s last regular-season tournament is this one. Advancing to next week’s Naples finale are the top 60 players in the Race to CME Globe. The winner of that finale gets $2 million. Lindy Duncan, a 35-year-old Floridian, has never won on the LPGA Tour. This is the first time she has shared the lead through 36 holes. She went 2-1 in her Solheim Cup debut. Per ESPN, she said, “The week has gone by really fast, which is sometimes a good thing.” The pressure of the season finale is already here.
Experience Trumps Form
Choi knows she has two rounds left to win. She has been in this position before. She told reporters, “I have two rounds left, but I have recently played in a champion group on the tournament before, so I have that experience and I’m going just try my best and concentrate on my game.” Korda is four shots back, but she is only 28. A win would make her eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame. The Japanese duo of Mao Saigo and Minami Katsu sit two shots behind the leaders.
