After a positive end to her first round at the Standard Portland Classic it was a tough day at the office for Stephanie Meadow on day two as she closed out with a 5-over par round of 77 to miss the cut in her first appearance of the LPGA season.
Seven bogeys in the round tells the story but Meadow put on a battling display with three birdies in her final six holes which will give her some confidence going forward, despite her lack of action in recent times.
Leading the way is South Korea’s Jeongeun Lee5 who shot a 6-under 67 on Friday giving her a 12-under par 132 total at Columbia Edgewater.
Winless on the LPGA Tour, Lee5 birdied the final five holes on her front nine in the morning round and she’s understandably buoyant heading into the weekend rounds.
“When we are playing well, we expect it to continue,” Lee5 said. “So, I want to really concentrate and focus going into the weekend. The past two rounds I had great energy, good shots, and good putts.”
There was an interesting side-story to the tournament with 65-year-old American Julie Inkster looking to become the oldest player to make an LPGA cut. It all looked great for the Hall of Famer who won the 1999 event after her opening round of 69 but she followed it up with a 74 to miss the cut by a single stroke.
“Wasn’t very inspiring,” Inkster said. “I didn’t drive the ball as well as I did yesterday. Kind of a grind out there today,” she added and she’s next in action at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open next week.
Grace Kim of Australia and Gurleen Kaur of the United States are a stroke back of Lee5 on the tree-lined course. Kim had a 65, and Kaur shot 68, while Akie Iwai had her second straight 67 to join Pajaree Anannarukarn (67) and Ashleigh Buhai (68) at 10-under.
Amateur Kiara Romero had a 69 to get to 8-under. The University of Oregon star won the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2025 Big Ten title and she was delighted to be rubbing shoulders with the stars of the LPGA.
“It feels really good just to see my game match up against some of these pros, just getting more comfortable playing in front of crowds and stuff,” Romero said. “My first time playing in front of a big crowd I kind of got a little bit shaken up and was nervous out there.”
Two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, had a 73 to fall to 6-under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023 and has dropped to 52nd in the world.
Defending champion Moriya Jutanugarn missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 74 at the tournament that is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.
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