Sara Byrne is safely through to the third and final round of the IOA Golf Classic at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Florida, but a late stumble leaves her 10 shots adrift.
On a blustery day just north of Orlando, Byrne failed to make the most of her chances on the back nine – her opening nine – trading just one birdie and one bogey, and making pars on each of the three par-5s.
Another birdie at the second was cancelled by a bogey on four, but then a double bogey on the eighth moved her to +2 and she faced an anxious wait to see where the cutline would settle. Fortunately, the +2 mark held and she takes her place in the third and final round.
First-round leader Jeongeun Lee5 still has one hand on the top spot, but she now shares it with a past Epson Tour winner in Gina Kim. Lee5 came out of the gate shaky after her bogey-free eight-under first round, making three bogeys in her last four holes before making the turn. The Republic of Korea native battled back on what has been her preferred nine of the week, the back nine.
After a five-under back nine in round one, Lee5 went bogey-free once again on day two, rolling in a birdie and an eagle to battle back to even par on the day. Lee5 is no stranger to winning golf tournaments, capturing five victories on the KLPGA, but she is still searching for her first victory in the United States.
Gina Kim followed up her six-under first round with a two-under second round to get into the final group during the final round. It seemed like Kim might run away with the tournament early in her round after making five birdies in her opening seven holes. A bogey on the tricky par-4 17th resulted in Kim making the turn at four-under after starting her day on the back-nine.
It then turned into survive and advance for Kim, making three pars to open the second nine. A double-bogey on the par-3 fourth moved the 24-year-old back into a tie for the lead. Five more pars were all Kim needed, however, and she is now in search of her second career Epson Tour victory.
“It’s been three years since that happened,” said Kim with a smile. “I did tell my mom, like on this last hole, that, you know, it’s going to be exciting tomorrow because no one’s going to know who’s going to win, so just being excited to be in contention again, I think it’s really nice and it’s a cool opportunity, and I don’t take it for granted.”
Gabriella Then made the move of the day, jumping from T72 to T5 after a bogey-free eight-under 63 in her second round. The round was clean all throughout the day, spreading out birdies all around the course, counting eight in total. Then nearly rolled in a ninth birdie on No. 18, but a lip out resulted in a tap-in par. The 29-year-old now finds herself in contention to win after beginning the day just trying to make the cut.
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