NAPLES, Fla. — Angel Yin holed a 30-foot par putt on her opening hole, setting the tone for a day of big putts and a 3-under 69 that gave her a two-way lead Friday on the CME Group Tour. Championship and chasing the prize of $ 4 million.
Very clear in her rearview mirror was Nelly Korda.
Korda, coming off his seventh win of the season last week, opened with a 72 and was eight shots behind. He found a simple swing idea after the round and returned to his old self with a 66 to cut the deficit in half with 36 holes to play.
“Golf is crazy,” Korda said. “You go from playing well last week to not being able to find the middle of the clubface yesterday. You always keep it low, but that’s what you love about it. I went to the range after my round yesterday. I tried to find a different one. I felt better out there today, and hopefully I can continue to improve.”
Yin followed that 30-foot par putt with a 40-foot birdie putt on the next hole. He also holed a birdie putt from about 35 feet on the 11th hole to take the lead for good.
He was 10 under at 134. Hye-Jin Choi (68) and Narin An (72) were 8 under.
Korda, who has already claimed her first player of the year award, is tied for fourth at 138 with four other players who are either major champions or former women’s world No. 1s — Jeeno Thitikul, Ayaka Furue, Ruoning Yin and Amy Yang, the defending champion. at Tiburon Golf Club.
Furue is also in a strong battle for the Vare Trophy for low points, and he reached half a point of Haeran Ryu.
Yin’s round had enough bogeys to dampen his momentum, as well as a conversation with the rules official where he took his own drop after going into the water on the par-3 fourth hole.
“It looks like I went down the wrong way where I went up closer than I should have, where I should have backed off,” said Yin, who was asked to review the photos. “They thought I didn’t catch the drop properly. I explained to them that I believe I took it the right way.”
He said everyone in his group was interviewed. He said the marshal never volunteered any information. The drop stopped, he took the bogey and continued.
“I believe my fall was right,” Yin said.
Korda, on the other hand, ate up the cup with birdie chances and made up for it on the third hole when his 8-iron from the rough landed so well that it rolled into the cup for eagle. That set him on his way.
The key to getting his game going was largely dependent on moving the club and taking a short swing. Everything came together. Korda also said that he was finally able to relax after a busy awards week.
Yin won $1 million last year in the Aon Risk-Reward Challenge, a year-round bonus competition that measures how players perform on risky, par-5 accessible holes. That $1 million meant a lot to him, and he said it. gave him some financial freedom.
What does $4 million mean?
“Great financial freedom,” she said.
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