Dana Open presented by Marathon

Highland Meadows Golf Club| Sylvania, Ohio| Sept. 1-4, 2022

Second-Round Notes

Sept. 2, 2022

Course Setup: 34-37—71, 6,594 yards

Scoring Averages: R1 – 70.960; R2 – 70.612

Weather: Mixed to mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the afternoon reaching the mid-80s; light and variable winds in the morning trending SSE and peaking 6-12 mph in the afternoon

EPSON’S TOUR LUCY LI HOLDS 36-HOLE LEAD AT DANA OPEN PRESENTED BY MARATHON

For the first time in her young career, two-time Epson Tour winner Lucy Li will sleep on the lead at an LPGA Tour event. After a sensational 7-under 64, which tied a career-low she first set earlier this season at the Honda LPGA Thailand playing as a sponsor invite, Li jumped into the top spot on the Dana Open presented by Marathon leaderboard at -10 overall and leads the field by two.

“Definitely being able to go two rounds bogey-free, I don’t think I’ve done that in really, really long time, or maybe ever, so that’s really a great confidence booster,” said Li, who only needed 25 putts to get around Highland Meadows Golf Club.

Li, who earned her way into this week’s field with her tie for ninth finish at the CP Women’s Open, is the only one in the field to be bogey-free through 36 holes in Sylvania. Starting the day on No. 10, her first birdie came on her third hole, No. 12, and from there she notched four more before the turn, including three straight on Nos. 14-16. Li added two more in her last seven holes, giving a lot of credit to some crucial par saves on her back nine that helped her maintain the lead ahead of the weekend

“I’ve been working on my short game a lot, so just being able to save those pars gives me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing just in general,” said Li. The 19-year-old, who clinched her 2023 LPGA Tour card via the Epson Tour with her wins at the Carolina Golf Classic and Twin Bridges Championship along with four additional top-10 finishes, could become an LPGA Member immediately with a win on Sunday. Li said she’ll use her experience from this past year to her advantage as she heads into Moving Day.

“Definitely having those two wins on the Epson Tour gives me that confidence knowing I can play well coming down the stretch. I think it’s just really important to treat every day the same, no matter what position you’re in,” said Li. “That’s like number one key for me.”

Chasing her at -8 and in a tie for second are 2022 Tour rookie Ruoning Yin and two-time LPGA Tour winner Carlota Ciganda. Both shot 2-under 69s, with Yin’s two-day total of 134 besting her previous 36-hole record by six shots. Ciganda’s only bogey of the event came on No. 5, but her third birdie of the day on No. 9 helped even out the over-par hole.

“I thought the greens were a little slower than yesterday, so my putting wasn’t as good. I was a little short compared to yesterday,” said Ciganda. “But overall, I played good. I had a couple good saves. Gave myself some chances. I would have liked a couple more birdies, but I think I am in a good position coming into the weekend.”

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Five players sit in a tie for fourth at -7, including defending champion Nasa Hataoka, who carded a five-under 66 in round two. She got off to a less than ideal start with a bogey on her second hole (No. 11) and a lone birdie on 17 but was firing on all cylinders on her final nine holes, carding five birdies to close out just three shots back of Li’s lead. “To be honest, not my best condition,” said Hataoka. “But playing on this very narrow course I think I was able to play – my management was good today, so I think that really helped my game.”

Major champion Hannah Green is among seven players tied for ninth. Starting the day in a tie for 124^th, Green fired the lowest round of the week thus far, a bogey-free 62 that saw her make nine birdies. There were 75 players who made the cut at -1, including #LPGAMom Azahara Munoz on the number in her first event back since giving birth to her son, Lucas, this past February.

HANNAH GREEN ROCKETS UP LEADERBOARD WITH SECOND-ROUND 62

Hannah Green knew she had to go low on Friday to make the cut at the Dana Open presented by Marathon. After opening with a 3-over 74 on day one, Green figured at least a second-round 67 would do the trick. She hasn’t missed a cut on the LPGA Tour since the 2021 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, and she wasn’t looking to end her streak in Sylvania, even if she was starting the day in a tie for 124^th.  It took one birdie on No. 2 to get into the flow, and after another on No. 5, Green was off to the races.

“I never really was thinking about posting numbers. I just wanted to make as many birdies as possible,” said the Australian. In all, she made nine throughout her bogey-free day, posting 62 to mark the lowest score of the week thus far. “Yesterday I really struggled with nearly everything in my game, so today everything was much cleaner and tidier. I actually had my caddie, Nate, read a few putts. Just hearing him reaffirming my read really helped. So holed a lot of good putts. I missed a putt on 17 for birdie, but obviously birdied 18, so that was nice.”

The 62 is a new career-low 18-hole score for Green, besting her previous record, 63, set nearly three years ago to the day in the second round of the AmazingCre Portland Classic. She’d go on to win that week for the second time on Tour, a memory she was reminded of before teeing it up at Highland Meadows Golf Club on Friday.

“Actually had a couple memories come up on my phone, and I guess one of them was three years ago winning Portland where I shot my personal best 9-under (63). And then also another memory of 2020 KPMG where I shot 79 the first day and 66 the second day,” said Green. “So I guess you could say it was kind of like that. So just to see that even though I had a bad Thursday, just being able to overcome it and completely forget about it, I think it was kind of nice to see those things on my phone just to remember that I can do it.”

The round could be the spark Green’s been looking for this season. Although she has earned five top-10 finishes this season, including a runner-up performance to Nasa Hataoka at the DIO Implant LA Open, Green hasn’t cracked the top 10 since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June. In her first appearance at the Dana Open, Green hopes a day like this could be the start of another memorable weekend for the 25-year-old.

“I feel like I’ve been playing very consistent this year. I haven’t missed cut this year, and I feel like at the start of the year I didn’t have a — some great results when I first game back, but I feel like I’ve been overall pretty consistent,” said Green. “I’ve had a lot of like tied 30th place, so I’m really hoping that I can get back into winning tournaments, but also when I’m not playing my best being in the top 10. So we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

WEI-LING HSU HURRIES UP LEADERBOARD ON FRIDAY WITH A 66 AT HIGHLAND MEADOWS

Chinese-Taipei’s Wei-Ling Hsu tied her low round of the season on Friday at the Dana Open presented by Marathon to post a 36-hole total of -7 and sit in a tie for fourth. The 27-year-old LPGA Tour veteran shot a 5-under 66 on day two at Highland Meadows Golf Club, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens with seven birdies and two bogeys on the card. The score matches Hsu’s opening round at last week’s CP Women’s Open and her final round at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give in June. Her two-day total of 135 also ties the third-lowest 36-hole score of her career which she last shot at the 2019 AmazingCre Portland Classic.

“This is a ball striker’s golf course. It’s not a long golf course,” said Hsu who ranked 30th in driving accuracy ahead of the week in Sylvania (77.58%). “I think I have really, really good driver. I hit it really consistently so I gave myself a lot of opportunities on iron shots that I was more able to attack the pin. I had really good iron shots yesterday, even better than today. Just didn’t make more putts. So I think if I can mix these two rounds and get the balance, I think will be even better.”

Hsu became a Rolex First-Time Winner at last year’s Pure Silk Championship after a seven-year winless drought and statistically, her putting carried her home. She led the field in putting average (28.25) and was in the top 10 in one-putts per round for all four days of play. She’s been struggling with the flatstick so far this season – Hsu is 109th in putts per green in regulation (1.84) and 71st in putting average (30.15) – and said she’s made a mental adjustment that’s been critical to her success on the greens thus far this week.

“I actually really, really struggled with my putting earlier this season,” said Hsu after making just 25 on Friday. “I try to work on a lot of the technique stuff. I always feel like I’m a very good putter and before this year maybe there is couple of putts that I feel like I should work on, so I put many hours in it. But the result didn’t come out like I expected. It got to a point I just feel like I’m tired from that, you know, to practice and not get any result. So I stepped back, just take a little break on that putting practice. Kind of just lay back and like putt by feeling.”

LAUREN KIM BIDS FAREWELL TO PROFESSIONAL GOLF AT DANA OPEN PRESENTED BY MARATHON

Riding off into the sunset is never easy, but for Lauren Kim, playing her last round of competitive golf at Highland Meadows Golf Club in the Dana Open presented by Marathon made her final moment as a professional golfer that much more special. In 2015, after the Stanford Cardinals won the NCAA Divison I National Championship at Concession, Kim was selected by head coach Anne Walker as the recipient of the Dana Open sponsor’s exemption traditionally given to a member of the winning team. Now, as the sun dipped below the horizon in Sylvania, Ohio, Kim officially said goodbye to her competitive golf career, a bittersweet moment for the 27-year-old.

“(The last two days were) a little bit surreal in a certain way,” said Kim of her last 36 holes on the LPGA Tour. “Marathon was the first LPGA event I ever played in. It was the summer after my junior year, after we won the national championship. It’s kind of weird that it started here and then now is ending here. Pretty special. I saw Judd (Silverman the tournament director) on the course out there today and it just feels full circle, which I’m really happy about. I think there are many ways that you can end a career, and this is kind of a sweet way to do it.”
 

Kim is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and had to miss a few classes this week to be able to tee it up but her professors didn’t seem to mind. You only get to retire once, and while the announcement was made weeks ago, Kim wanted to soak in the moment and play one last round inside the ropes, surrounded by her Tour friends who made sure to celebrate her Thursday evening and let Kim know how much she’ll be missed by her LPGA family.
 

“I don’t know how involved with golf I’ll be in the near future, but we’ll see. I’m trying to enjoy being a normal person and the mental freedom that comes along with retiring. It’s weird to say retiring. I don’t think it’s settled in yet that it’s true retirement,” said Kim. “I think the biggest thing I’ll miss is my friends. I wouldn’t have been out here for six years I don’t think if it weren’t for them. We took a picture (last night) where they all held me up. It’s emotional because it represents how I feel like they’ve been in my life the last six years, just supporting me. I really truly would not have played for this long if it weren’t for them.”

Rolex Rankings No 161, Lucy Li (68-64)

• Li hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 25 putts
• Her second-round 64 ties her career-low 18-hole score on the LPGA Tour; she recorded it one other time, in the third round of the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand where she was a sponsor exemption
• Li is bogey free through 36 holes; she is the only player in the field without a bogey through the first two rounds
• This is the first time she has held the lead after any round in an LPGA Tour event
• This is Li’s first appearance in the Dana Open presented by Marathon; she earned her way into the field following her T9 finish at the CP Women’s Open
• This is her 11^th LPGA Tour appearance since 2014; her finish at the CP Women’s Open is a career-best, and she’s also notched three additional top-16 finishes on Tour
• Li has clinched her 2023 LPGA Tour card through her performance on the Epson Tour this season; she’s won twice this year and notched four additional top-10 finishes
• She turned professional in 2019
• As an amateur, Li got to No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking; she won the 2016 Junior PGA Championship and was a two-time member of the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team (2016, 2018), U.S. Junior Solheim Cup (2017, 2019) and the 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup team
• In 2014, she became the youngest to qualify for the U.S Women’s Open (11), surpassing Lexi Thompson’s record of 12 years, 4 months and 18 days from 2007; she was 11 years, 8 months and 19 days when she teed it up at Pinehurst

Rolex Rankings No. 421, Ruoning Yin (65-69)

• Yin hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, with 25 putts
• Her 134 bests her previous 36-hole record by six shots, 140, recorded at the 2022 DIO Implant LA Open
• Her first-round was 65 is a new career-low on the LPGA Tour; her previous best was a 68 recorded in the second round of the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America
• This is Yin’s first appearance in the Dana Open presented by Marathon
• This is her 10^th event of the 2022 season; she’s made two cuts, with a season-best result of T26 at the Palos Verdes Championship
• Yin is a 2022 LPGA Tour rookie; her career-best result is the T26 from the Palos Verdes Championship
• She finished T4 at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series to first earn Tour status for this season
• Yin turned professional in 2020, primarily playing on the CLPGA and is a three-time winner on that Tour
• She won nine titles in 2019 as a junior amateur and was ranked as high as 64th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings

Rolex Rankings No. 40, Carlota Ciganda (65)

• Ciganda hit nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
• Her 134 is one off her lowest 36-hole score of the season, 133, which she recorded at the Honda LPGA Thailand and Meijer LPGA Classic
• Her first-round 65 tied her second-best first-round score of her LPGA Tour career; she last recorded a 65 on day one at the 2019 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, with her best a 63 at the 2019 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
• This is Ciganda’s fifth appearance at the Dana Open presented by Marathon; she earned one top-10 finish at Highland Meadows, a tie for ninth in 2020
• This is her 18th event of the 2022 season; she’s made 11 cuts and has notched three top-five finishes, most recently at the Amundi Evian Championship (T3)
• This is Ciganda’s 11th Season on the LPGA Tour; she’s a two-time Tour winner, with her last win at the 2016 CitiBanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Aeromexico and Delta
• She is a six-time Ladies European Tour winner, with her most recent this year at the Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open in July
• Ciganda is a five-time European Solheim Cup Team member (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021) and a member of Team Spain at the International Crown in 2014
• She is a two-time Olympian representing Spain; She finished T39 at the 2016 Rio Olympics and T29 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

SOCIAL MEDIA: #DRIVEON

Tournament: @danaopenlpga (Twitter, Instagram), #DanaLPGAOpen

LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter); @lpga_tour (Instagram)

TV & STREAMING TIMES (all times Eastern on Golf Channel, golfchannel.com and the NBC Sports App)

Saturday, Sept. 3 – 1-4 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 4 – 1-4 p.m.

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS

18 holes: 60, Paula Creamer, first round, 2008

36 holes: 125, Paula Creamer, 2008

54 holes: 194, Nasa Hataoka, 2021

72 holes: 261 (-23), Se Ri Pak, 1998

COURTESY PGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS