July 9 -- There were a whole lot of + signs next to players’ names Friday morning, as the hot, steamy, and treacherous Oakmont Country Club began its assault on the best women golfers in the world.
Triple for Gulbis. Brittany Lang and Natalie Gulbis stood out Friday morning as the only two golfers in contention under par early in the second round of the 2010 US Women’s Open -- until Gulbis carded a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 10th, and Lang bogeyed the fifth.
Despite her bogey and even-par second round through seven holes Friday, Lang remained the only golfer in red numbers, at 2-under for the tourney. Gulbis got a shot back with a birdie on the par-4 11th to move back to 3-over for the tourney.
Cinderella story. Kelli Shean, the major story on Day One, could not recapture the magic of her first round. The clock must have struck midnight on her improbable Cinderella story, as the South African amateur was 5-over through 13 holes, pushing her back to 4-over for the tourney.
S-L-O-W play. Shean, who started the day in a tie for second place behind Lang, was also in a threesome that officials put on the clock on the fourth tee for slow play. The Shean group made the turn in two and a half hours, well behind the USGA’s target of 4:34 for the entire round.
With much of the field on the course, here’s what was happening with other notables in the early going:
- Christina Kim -- 1-over through 10 holes, +2 for the tourney
- Alexis Thompson -- 2-over through 10, 4-over for tourney
- Cristie Kerr -- 3-over through nine, 4-over for tourney
- Yani Tseng -- 3 over through nine, 5-over for tourney
- Juli Inkster -- 4-over through 10, 10-over for tourney
On deck. Golfers yet to tee it up included:
- Paula Creamer, 1-over (1:14 p.m. EDT)
- Kristy McPherson, 1-over (1:25)
- Sophie Gustafson, 1-over (1:47)
- Ai Miyazato, 2-over (1:03)
- Angela Stanford, 2-over (1:14)
- Brittany Lincicome, 2-over (1:14)
- Jennifer Song, 2-over (1:36)
- Morgan Pressel, 3-over (1:03)
- Michelle Wie, 11-over (1:03)
Sleeper? Kim, who lost to Na Yeon Choi in a two-hole playoff at last week’s Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, could be the sleeper in this tourney. Kim eagled her 18th hole Thursday and entered Friday’s round on a roll.
Withdrawn. New England golfer Liz Janangelo withdrew from the tourney. The Connecticut native gave some indications on her Twitter page that she wasn’t feeling well. Janangelo complained of pain in her leg following her first-round 84 and later tweeted that she was having trouble sleeping.
She may not win, but Christina Kim is always fun to watch. Read how Kim adds pizzaz to women’s golf.
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