By Carey Van Lue

Portland Classic

Columbia Edgewater Country Club | Portland, Oregon| August 31- September 3, 2023

Second-Round Notes

Friday, September 1, 2023

Course Setup: 36-36–72; 6,303

Scoring Average: R1: 70.820; R2: 69.984

Weather: Mostly sunny with morning cloud cover clearing in the afternoon; Temperatures reached the low

80s with 8-12 mph winds and gusts up to 18 mph

Race to CME Globe Points: 500 points (winner)

Purse: $1,500,000 (winner’s portion is $225,000)

TV/Streaming Times: How to Watch

PERRINE DELACOUR HOLDS ON TO PORTLAND CLASSIC LEAD THROUGH 36 HOLES

With conditions ripe for the taking, Perrine Delacour delivered for the second-straight day at the Portland Classic, maintaining her spot at the top of the leaderboard through two rounds at Columbia Edgewater at -14 overall. The Frenchwoman posted a 5-under 67 to record a new career-best 36-hole score, 130, and is now bogey-free through 41 holes, dating back to last week’s final round at the CPKC Women’s Open.

“I mean, of course coming from a leader on the first day, shooting 9-under, you know you’re not going to shoot twice 9-under. So thankfully my team, my mental coach was telling me it’s impossible you’re going to shoot twice 9-under, so just try your best and see where it’s going,” said Delacour, who held an 18-hole lead for the first time in her Tour career on Thursday and now holds her first 36-hole lead. “I mean, I was pretty stressed at first because I never been a leader after the first day, so I talk a lot with my caddie were talking and he was just trying to help me be patient. He’s like, it’s okay. You’re starting from scratch so you’re even and just trying again. See where it’s going.”

Delacour, who started the day on No. 10, posted her lone bogey in her first nine holes on the par-4 14th, but turned on the gas in her final seven holes. After her second birdie of the day on 3, Delacour carded three more coming down the stretch on 5-7, before two solid pars to make it just the second time this season to open an event with back-to-back rounds in the 60s following her Thursday 63.

But lurking one-stroke back in solo second is Linn Grant, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner this past July at the Dana Open in Ohio. Capitalizing on scoreable chances, Grant was consistent from the jump with three birdies in her first seven holes. Grant went on to birdie the two par 5s on the back nine, Nos. 10 and 12, before her only blemish on the card at No. 15 after missing both the fairway and green on the par 4. She rebounded quickly to end the round on a high note, with two birdies in her last three holes to get to -13 overall.

Last week’s winner Megan Khang recorded her second-straight 66 to keep Delacour’s lead in view at -12. Khang’s day, which included five birdies and one bogey, was highlighted by an eagle at No. 5, a day after also carding an eagle on No. 7 during her first round. After avoiding the water with her drive, Khang let her 2-wood do the dirty work as she stared her chance on the first par 5 of the round.

“Funny enough I was telling Jack that it feels like we been having that same putt, like left-to-right, right-and-left on the side of the greens just because in the pro-am I was there, practice round I was there, and yesterday I was also there,” said Khang, who is the only player to make at least one eagle in each round so far this week. “I had a pretty good feeling and just kind of put a good stroke on it, and very fortunate to make it.”

It’s a pileup at -10 with seven players in a tie for fourth, including LPGA Tour Winners Ally Ewing, Elizabeth Szokol, Charley Hull, Madelene Sagstrom, and Ruoning Yin. Yin, who started the day in a tie for 44th, carded the day’s low round thanks to a bogey-free 64. A win by the major champion has her projected to reach World No. 1, should the opportunity arise with the trophy on Sunday.

Defending champion Andrea Lee sits in a tie for 25th after a Friday 71 at -7 overall. A total of 68 players made the cut at -4, tied for the second-lowest 36-hole cut in LPGA Tour history. It’s only the seventh time in Tour history that the cut has been at -4 or lower. Two-time major champion Lilia Vu, who tied for third in Portland in 2022, made the cut on the number heading into the weekend. Notables to miss the include 2023 Tour winners Allisen Corpuz (T69, -3) and Rose Zhang (T86, -2), as well as Lexi Thompson (T69, -3), Stacy Lewis (T86, -2) and Lydia Ko (T106, E).

A LOOK AT THE LEADER

Rolex Rankings No. 87 Perrine Delacour

• She hit 8 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens
  • Her 14 birdies in 36-hole is tied for second most in the field along with rookie Chanettee Wannasaen
  • She is one of three players to go bogey-free in both the first and second round, joined by Madelene Sagstrom and Mina Harigae
  • She has played 41 holes without a bogey; she last made bogey on the 13^th hole in her final round at the CPKC Women’s Open
• This is Delacour’s first time holding a second-round lead on the LPGA Tour
  • She also led after the first round on Thursday, which was her first time holding an 18-hole lead
  • She has only held one other post-round lead on the LPGA Tour, a third-round lead at the 2015 Pure Silk Championship where she finished solo fourth
• Her 14-under 130 is her new career-low 36-hole score on the LPGA Tour
  • Her previous low was a 133, which she shot at the 2017 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic
  • This is the first time she has opened with two rounds in the 60s at the Portland Classic
    • She has shot an opening round in the 60s in three consecutive appearances at the Portland Classic
• Her 9-under 63 on Thursday was the second-best 18-hole score of her career, and new season-best
  • It was also her career-best first-round score
  • Her career low round is a 62, recorded in the second round of the 2017 Manulife Classic
  • Her previous season-best was a 64, recorded in the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
  • Her previous best score at the Portland Classic was a 69, recorded three times throughout 2020 and 2021
• This is her fifth appearance in the Portland Classic
  • She finished in fourth in 2021, one of two made cuts in her previous starts in Portland
• This is her 16th event of the 2023 season
  • She’s earned on top-10 finish, a T9 result at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play
• This is her 11th season on the LPGA Tour (64)
  • She’s recorded five top-10 finishes in her career on Tour, including a career-best solo third at the 2020 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
• She’s a two-time winner on the Epson Tour
• She represented France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing T29

THINGS TO KNOW

• Linn Grant is one-shot back in second at -13
  • She leads the field in birdies through 36 holes with 15
  • Her 66 is a new career-best second-round score on Tour
  • Her 131 is also a new career-best 36-hole score, beating her previous low by two shots
  • It’s her first time opening with two rounds in the 60s since her victory at the Dana Open
• Megan Khang is in solo third with the weekend ahead at -12
  • She is the only player to card two eagles through 36 holes this week
  • This is the second time Khang has opened with two-straight rounds in the 60s this season, and the first time since March (66-69, DIO Implant LA Open)
  • Her 132 ties her career-low 36-hole score
    • She first recorded a 132 at the 2022 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, where she finished T5
• Seven players sit in a tie for fourth at -10, including Chanette Wannasaen, Madelene Sagstrom and Ruoning Yin
  • Wannasaen’s second-round 66 ties her career-best 18-hole score on Tour, recorded one other time in the third round of the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand
    • This is only her third cut made this season on Tour
    • She finished T51 at the Honda LPGA Thailand and T57 at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Supersition Mountain
  • Wannasaen’s 68-66 makes it the first time she has ever opened an LPGA Tour event with two rounds in the 60s
    • It’s only the second time this season she has carded back-to-back rounds in the 60s in an event, after doing so after the second and third round of the LPGA Drive On Championship
  • Wannasaen came in second at last week’s Circling Raven Championship, losing to Yue Ren in a playoff
    • Wannasaen is a two-time winner on the Thai LPGA Tour and won the 2022 Trust Golf Links Series – Ramside Hall on the LET Access Series
  • Sagstrom is one of three players to be bogey-free through 36 holes
    • This is the first time she’s opened with back-to-back rounds in the 60s since the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain
  • Sagstrom’s 134 is her new season-low 36-hole score, and her best on Tour since a 134 at the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic
  • Since a T39 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, this week is Sagstrom’s second made cut in her past six events
    • She finished in a tie for ninth at the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open
  • Yin’s 64 on Friday ties her career-best 18-hole score on Tour, recorded first in the second round of her win at the DIO Implant LA Open
    • Yin is coming off two top-three finishes in her last three events
• Defending champion Andrea Lee sits in a tie for 25th at -7
• Sixty-eight players made the cut at -4
  • This is the lowest cut of the season and ties the second-lowest cut ever on the LPGA Tour
    • The cut has been made at -4 on four separate occasions and at -5 on two separate occasions
  • Three of the six past champions in the field made the cut: Lee (-7), Brooke Henderson (-7) and Georgia Hall (-6)
    • Stacy Lewis (-2), Hannah Green (-2) and Marina Alex (E) missed the cut
  • Other notable players to miss the cut are 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz, 11-time LPGA Tour winner Lexi Thompson and LPGA Tour rookie Rose Zhang
• Ruixin Liu withdrew from the Portland Classic field during the second round due to injury
• The par-5 No. 5 at Columbia Edgewater played the easiest during the first round
  • The scoring average during Round 2 was 4.62
  • There were 59 birdies and 5 eagles made on No. 5 on Thursday
• The par-4 No. 17 played the hardest on Friday with a scoring average of 4.07
  • Twenty-five birdies were made there and 32 bogeys or worse
• The Portland Classic is the longest running non-major tournament on the LPGA Tour
  • This is the 52^nd playing of the event

ROLEX RANKINGS WORLD NO. 1 PROJECTIONS – PORTLAND CLASSIC

Note – There may be additional possibilities with tie scenarios

Nelly Korda, currently -8 and T17, needs a solo fifth or better finish to have a chance to return to Rolex Rankings World No. 1 for the sixth time. Korda has spent 37 total career weeks at No. 1 since she first ascended to the top in June 2021.

Ruoning Yin, currently -10 and T4, needs a win or a solo second-place finish to have a chance to become No. 1 for the first time. Yin would be the second player from the People’s Republic of China to reach No. 1 following Shanshan Feng who was No. 1 for 23 consecutive weeks more than five years ago (November 13, 2017 to April 22, 2018).

World No. 2 Nelly Korda

• Win
• Solo second and have Lilia Vu finish solo third or worse and Ruoning Yin does not win
• Solo third and have Lilia Vu finish solo sixth or worse and Ruoning Yin does not win
• Solo fourth and have Lilia Vu finish solo 18th or worse and have Ruoning Yin finish solo third or worse
• Solo fifth and have Lilia Vu finish solo 66th or worse and have Ruoning Yin finish solo third or worse
  • A solo 66th or worse finish is equivalent to missing the cut as no points are earned beyond 65th place.

World No. 4 Ruoning Yin

• Win
• Solo second and have Lilia Vu finish solo seventh or worse and have Nelly Korda finish solo fourth or worse

Current World No. 1 Lilia Vu made the cut on the number at -4 and T54

QUOTABLE

Perrine Delacour on her mental health struggles that took her away from the game during the 2022 season:

“I’m not in the right place mentally. It’s hard to say. I’m a leader on the LPGA. But golf is just golf. I’m trying to get something else other than golf… When you were telling me yesterday, like you shot 9-under, are you pretty happy about it? Yeah, it’s good, but it doesn’t describe me as a person. That’s what we been working on a lot with my team, especially this week. I’ve been struggling, but it is what it is. It takes time to go back from a good moment and feeling good in life. I’ve been more and more happy to talk, and I’m talking more and more to people and not being scared about it, but it’s not easy.”

Linn Grant (-13, 2) on playing alongside Solheim Cup teammate Charley Hull (-10, T4):

“I think we had a great time. We got know each other a little bit more. Obviously she plays great. It’s always great to have someone, one or two, that you can play with, kind of go back and forth with the birdies and push each other a little bit more. It’s been really fun and I’m really looking forward to being on the same team as her.”

Megan Khang (-12, 3) on how she feels through 36 holes after her win last week in Canada:

“Honestly I think it’s just I feel kind of mellowed out because I bogeyed the last hole. No one likes bogeying the last, but definitely gives you something more to work on. It’s been kind of like a long week it feels like, but overall I think I’ve kind of just come to this week kind of going, hey, game is in a good place. Mentally a little tired, but sometimes that can be a good thing. Just not over-exhausting myself out there and take it one shot at time and relax when I can out there.

Local favorite Caroline Inglis (-8, T17) on the motivation and energy she feels playing close to home:

“My friend Jessica made like cutout heads. It’s great. I mean, yeah, it’s nice to have people cheering and clapping and seeing like familiar faces and stuff like that. One of the members’ daughters made me like the Taylor Swift bracelets and gave them to me after the round, so it’s just really cool to have.”

NOTABLE

Khang resting and watching Netflix in pursuit of back-to-back wins

Sagstrom finds a spark in Portland of Solheim Cup

Perrine Delacour Second-Round Highlights | 2023 Portland Classic

Second-Round Highlights – Extended | 2023 Portland Classic

Linn Grant Second-Round Interview | 2023 Portland Classic

Second-Round Swings from the Portland Classic

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS

18 holes: 61, Sei Young Kim, second round, 2019

36 holes: 127, Hannah Green, 2017

54 holes: 197, Yealimi Noh, 2019

72 holes: 267 (-21), Hannah Green, 2019; Brooke Henderson, 2015

COURTESY LPGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS