Celine Herbin will take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Women’s Australian Open after carding a second round 69 (-3) at a testing Kooyonga Golf Club to move to six-under par.
A host of Australians remain in the mix following 36 holes of action in Adelaide. One of the headline stars, Major winner Hannah Green, sits just one back in a tie for second alongside compatriot Kirsten Rudgeley and France’s Agathe Laisne – a recent winner at the Ford Women’s NSW Open.
Playing in the afternoon wave, patience was the name of the game for two-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner Herbin as she came alive on her back-nine, the course’s front-nine, following 10 consecutive pars.
After the turn, Herbin posted birdies at the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 6th to soar into a two shot lead before she handed two shots back to the field with a double bogey on the 8th.
But with the Adelaide heat cooling down, the 43-year-old made a clutch birdie at the par-5 9th thanks to a wonderful third shot. She leads a bunched field by a single shot heading into the weekend in Australia.
“It’s awesome [to be leading],” Herbin said. “The truth is, I’m not looking at the leaderboard, so I had no idea that I was leading. I’m just happy with how I played and we will see on Sunday night what happens.
“There was a lot of patience on the first 10 holes today. I had to save a couple of pars. I had a few birdie chances but the ball was just not dropping. But we stayed patient with my caddie [Doug]. We really had a good chat about how patience is important. And finally I got the first birdie on the hole number two [my 11th], the par-5, from the bunker. That kind of kicked off the round.”
One of the chasers, seven-time LPGA winner Green, carded five birdies in her final 10 holes to recover from a double-bogey at the 7th and post a 69 (-3).
“I thought it was going to be a good day after I birdied the 2nd,” the Australian said. “I made a nice up-and-down from the bunker and then just hit an unfortunate shot on the 7th. So it was kind of frustrating. But yeah, I was able to at least make a birdie on 9, which I knew was a gettable par-5 and kind of calm myself down.”
There has not been an Aussie winner of the Women’s Australian Open since Karrie Webb lifted the famous trophy in 2014. Green, a winner on the LPGA in Singapore two weeks ago, understands the significance of changing this discourse.
“I probably am putting a lot more pressure on myself than I’m used to,” Green added. “I was getting a little bit impatient on that front nine, but I saw a couple of longer putts go in on the back nine, which gave me some confidence.
“I’m super excited [for the weekend]. I hope there are a lot of Australians that come out and watch this weekend. You’ve got some of the world’s best players from all around the entire world. So it’s such a great opportunity for them to see up close how we do it.”
Two more Aussies are also in the hunt at their home open heading into the weekend, with LET rookie Stephanie Bunque and recent winner Kelsey Bennett tied for fifth on four-under par. They sit just two back from Herbin alongside Sweden’s Moa Folke.
Bunque had an excellent morning going out in 31 before eventually posting a round of 68 (-4) to soar up the leaderboard.
The rookie said: “It’s always nice to get off to a fast start and you always try to build on that and it was nice to have some confidence very early in the round to be able to continue that aggressive mindset.
“This is my second Aus Open in Adelaide and it’s really cool that we’re back here because the fans in Adelaide really get around sport and golf in particular and it’s a really good atmosphere and it’s really fun. So to be able to put together a good round and sort of shoot up that leaderboard coming into the weekend is really exciting.”
Three players round off the top 10 in a tie for eighth on three-under par. The trio includes Wales’ Darcey Harry, the 18-hole leader, Germany’s Alexandra Försterling, and Argentina’s Maggie Simmermacher.
Following 36 holes of action at Kooyonga Golf Club, 67 players made the cut which fell at five-over par. The third round of the Women’s Australian Open gets underway tomorrow at 7:38 am.
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