A brilliant second round by Queenslander Sarah Jane Smith has put her on to the leaderboard in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship near Chicago, the second major of the women’s season.
Smith carded a 67 with seven birdies and three bogeys at Olympia Fields Country Club to move into contention through two rounds, while top-ranked Minjee Lee from Perth made a barnstorming finish to narrowly make the cut
Smith, 32, originally from Geelong in Victoria but more recently the Sunshine Coast is having another excellent season on the LPGA Tour, rising to a world ranking of 81. She was third in the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide in February.
Victorian Su Oh, who was near the lead after the first round, fell away today with a 75 to be tied-46th.
But Lee, the 21-year-old superstar who is ranked 16th in the world, ensured that she would play on the weekend with an eagle at the par-five 18th hole. Until then, she was outside the cut line of two-over. As it is, the Western Australian is at one-over through two rounds and well off the pace.
Karrie Webb (77-76) missed the cut.
World No. 1 So Yeon Ryu of South Korea is in contention, just two from the lead, and former world No. 1 Lydia Ko also is in the mix.