Leona Maguire and Jennifer Kupcho shot a 10-under-par 60 in better-ball play on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Dow Championship, the LPGA Tour’s only team event.
The Solheim Cup rivals posted a 13-under-par 127 total at Midland Country Club after an opening alternate-shot 67 on Thursday.
“The plan today was to give ourselves as many chances as possible, trying to create two opportunities on every hole,” said Maguire. “For the most part, we achieved that. It was great to start with a birdie and an eagle early on to get the momentum going.”
“It’s honestly not that different,” she added on the difference between fourball and individual play. “You’re trying to hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, and just give yourself some good chances.
“Jen’s a little bit longer off the tee than me, so trying to take advantage of her length where we can. Did that in foursomes well yesterday.
“Yeah, today was steady, but also giving yourself chances. Today there wasn’t a lot of risk/reward to it with one being aggressive and one not. We tried to give ourselves two chances on every hole and it dovetailed pretty nicely.
“I think we executed pretty well yesterday. So more of the same. I mean, the game plan didn’t change drastically today, so same as we did yesterday, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens.
“It was nice to see some putts go in today, so try to bring that into tomorrow as best we can.”
They hold a one-stroke lead over Cassie Porter and Gemma Dryburgh, the first-round leaders, who parred the final six holes in a 62. The teams will play another alternate-shot round on Saturday, followed by a better-ball round on Sunday.
“There’s still plenty of golf to play,” said Kupcho, the 2022 champion with fellow American Lizette Salas. “We just need to stay focused and keep doing our best.”
The teams of Sarah Schmelzel and Albane Valenzuela (61), Manon De Roey and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (61), and Yan Liu and Yahui Zhang (62) were 11 under par.
“It was a fantastic round,” Valenzuela said. “I definitely feed off Sarah’s energy. She makes it really easy for me out there.”
Lexi Thompson and Meghan Kang, tied for second after an opening 67, carded a 65 to slip into a tie for ninth at 8 under par.
“Hit fairways and greens, and hole a few more putts,” Thompson said. “That’s the goal.”
Defending champions Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul, both ranked among the top five in the women’s world rankings, were 6 under par after a 66.
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