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GREENSBORO, Georgia: Ally McDonald is trying to leave everyone behind and not get too far ahead.
McDonald shot a 4-under 68 on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to take a one-shot lead on the weekend at the LPGA Drive On Championship-Lake Reynolds Oconee.
“I’m trying to just execute and stick to my game plan,” McDonald said. “I think it is very easy for a person who has never won to get ahead. We all really want to win. That is why we do this. That’s why we compete, to get in the fray as much as we can. “
The 27-year-old from Mississippi made five straight birdies in the middle of the round, then returned two bogey shots at par 4 fifth and par 5 sixth.
“I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to discredit my round just because I played a couple of bad holes towards the end of the day,'” McDonald said. “I got in a great position to hit some really good shots and it was really solid because I guess it would have been 13 holes. “
He had a total of 10 under 134s in the freshman event at the Great Waters Course.
“The next two days I’m going to try to execute my game plan, stick to one hit at a time,” McDonald said. “If I find myself leading, I need to regroup, go back and be at the right moment, be present and try to make the shot I have.”
Danielle Kang was tied for second with Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines in the event added to the schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down women’s golf for five months. The tour returned with another Drive On tournament in Toledo, Ohio in late July, with Kang winning that event and again the following week in Sylvania, Ohio.
Kang, tied in the first round with Jennifer Song after 65, birdied par 5 18 for 70. Kang leads the race to the CME Globe and, at World No. 5, is the highest ranked player on the field ,
“I think I’m in a pretty good position for the weekend,” Kang said. “Knowing the golf course a little better every day. Today he played differently than yesterday because he left early and the golf course played longer. The greens were a bit longer, there is dew so it was a little slower. Towards the end it started to dry out, so I had to adjust. “
Pagdanganan shot a 67, also birdied the 18th. A member of Arizona’s 2018 NCAA championship team after starting his college career at Gonzaga, he is making his sixth start of the year on the LPGA Tour and seventh overall.
“I feel really relaxed,” Pagdanganan said. “I’m really enjoying this whole environment, with the field by the lake, it’s really beautiful.”
Ariya Jutanugarn was 8 under par after 69. Winless in more than two years, the 10-time LPGA Tour champion opened bogey-double bogey at numbers 10 and 11, then bounced back with an eagle and four birdies.
“To be honest, after the first two holes, I feel like making a cut will be good enough for me this week.” Jutanugarn said. “It’s really fun to be able to go back and make some birdies.”
He placed the eagle in the second par 5 with a 6 iron downwind from 195 yards at 20 feet.
“At that hole, I feel like I have a good commitment with every shot I make,” Jutanugarn said.
Katherine Kirk birdied four of the last six holes in the afternoon for a 65 to reach 7 under.
“It’s good to get that good start and move on,” Kirk said. “There are many opportunities out there. It’s just a matter of being patient and attacking the pins that are more accessible, which I did pretty well. “
European Cup teammates Solheim Mel Reid (68) and Pernilla Lindberg (69) were also 7 under. Reid won his first LPGA Tour title three weeks ago in New Jersey.
Song had four bogeys and a closing double bogey at a 75. He was six strokes behind.
Jessica Korda rallied from a 74 in the first round and a starting bogey to shoot 67 and reach 3 under. She yelled No. 6.
Lydia Ko was also 3 under par, finishing with a bogey at ninth par 4 for a 70. The 15-time LPGA Tour champion has not won in two and a half years. Her playmate Lexi Thompson, at No. 10, one of three top-10 players on the field, also dropped a hit at the ninth par 4. She was 1 after a 74.
Minjee Lee, Australian No. 9, was 1 down after 73.
Juli Inkster missed the cut with rounds of 77 and 72. The 60-year-old Hall of Famer was making her third start of the year.
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