Lindblad joins Buhai atop the leaderboard in the LPGA Tour's JM Eagle LA Championship
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ingrid Lindblad took a share of the lead into the weekend at El Caballero Country Club in only the fourth start of her rookie season on the LPGA Tour.
Lindblad shot a career-best 9-under 63 in cool conditions Friday afternoon to join Ashleigh Buhai atop the leaderboard at 13-under 131 in the JM Eagle LA Championship.
'I feel like if you put the work in, like eventually it's going to show up,' said Lindblad, the 25-year-old former LSU star from Sweden. 'Obviously, it's hard to tell exactly when it's going to show up, but, obviously, I feel like I've been working on good things in my golf game that I need to get better at. After a day like this, it shows that it paid off.'
With the temperature only climbing into the low 60s on an overcast day, Lindblad had 10 birdies and a bogey on the first 14 holes. She parred the final four.
'I thought I read the greens really well,' Lindblad said. 'It wasn't just like tap-ins for par. It was 10-footers, 17-footers. I read the greens really well. Thought I had good speed on the greens. Really just one putt that ran away from me and I three-putted it.'
Buhai had a share of the lead for the second straight day after opening with a 63 to match Yan Liu. The 35-year-old South African player parred the final five holes Friday in a 68.
'It's always difficult to follow a low one, but I'm pretty happy how I played today,' said Buhai, the 2022 Women's British Open winner. 'Pins were a little trickier, but still some that were gettable. Missed a few more greens, but proud of how I hung in there. Made good up-and-downs to keep me in it today.'
Minjee Lee was 12 under after a 65 in the morning. She won the 2019 tournament at Wilshire Country Club.
'I think just being in the right spot off the tee and, obviously, just hitting good iron shots into the greens,' Lee said. 'Some of the greens are a little bit bigger, there are bigger landing spots.'
The tournament is being played at El Caballero because of renovations at Wilshire. It will return to Wilshire next season.
Liu had a 70 to drop into a tie for fourth at 11 under with Lauren Coughlin (67) and Miyu Yamashita (65).
Top-ranked Nelly Korda was 9 under after a 68 in her final start before her title defense next week in Houston in the major Chevron Championship.
'In the middle of the front nine just had a little bit after hiccup with kind of a silly double and a bogey to back it up,' Korda said. 'So, fought my way back to even through nine and kind of played some solid golf on the back nine.'
Second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul also was 9 under, shooting 67.
Two-time defending champion Hannah Green was 8 under after a 67.
Asterisk Talley, the 16-year-old Californian playing on a sponsor exemption missed the cut by a stroke, shooting 69-72. The recent runner-up at the Augusta National Women's Amateur, she was second last year at El Caballero in the U.S. Girls Junior.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
19 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Late miscues cost Phil Mickelson a shot at the weekend in his 34th - and maybe last
Associated Press OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — By the time Phil Mickelson reached the 18th green at Oakmont on Friday evening, the once-packed grandstand was maybe a quarter-full. Same for the luxury suites. There was no grand gesture as the 54-year-old Mickelson loped up the hill. No wave to the crowd the way Arnold Palmer did in the same spot on the same course 31 years ago. No lengthy standing ovation from the gallery in return either. The man whose decades-long pursuit of the U.S. Open made him a fan favorite in his prime — not unlike Palmer in some ways — instead quietly marked his ball 16 feet from the hole, then walked over to the far edge of the green and stared at the leaderboard that glowed in the rainy twilight. A birdie would have let Mickelson stick around for the weekend at his 34th — and perhaps last — trip to the national championship. Wearing a white hat featuring the logo of his LIV Golf team, the HyFlyers GC, Mickelson stood over the line trying to get the right read. When the putt slid a foot left of the hole to keep Mickelson one outside the cut at plus-8, a small groan arose from those who stuck around. There was a shout or two of 'We love you Phil!' Along the railing, a man leaned toward a friend and said, "His exemption is done. No more U.S. Open for you Phil.' Maybe, maybe not. The five-year exemption into the tournament that Mickelson received when he captured the 2021 PGA Championship is expiring. Whether he'll be back to make a run at the one major that has eluded him is anyone's guess. Mickelson sure isn't saying. He politely declined to talk to reporters after emerging from the scoring area, disappearing into the clubhouse and an uncertain future at a tournament where he's been a runner-up six times. There are a number of ways for Mickelson to make it to Shinnecock next June. The USGA could offer him an exemption, as it did at Torrey Pines in 2020, though that doesn't appear to be USGA chief championship officer John Bodenhamer's first choice. 'I think the way that we would also think of Phil is we hope he earns his way in, and I think he'd tell you the same thing,' Bodenhamer said Wednesday. "That's what he did last time. We gave him one and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So wouldn't put it past him.' Mickelson became the oldest major champion ever when he triumphed at Kiawah in 2021 at age 50. A lot has happened since then. Both on the course and off it. The man known universally as 'Lefty' played a major role in LIV Golf's rise, a move that has taken a bit of the shine off of his popularity back home. And while Mickelson's game can still show flashes — he really did knock a sideways flop shot into the hole during a LIV event last week in Virginia — and he looks fitter now than he did two decades ago, the reality is the swashbuckling approach that once endeared him to so many doesn't work that much anymore at the U.S. Open. Mickelson appeared to be in solid position to play the weekend when he stood on the 15th tee. He even on the day and 4 over for the tournament, well inside the cutline. A tee shot into the ankle deep rough at the 489-yard par 4 led to double bogey. He still seemed to be OK when he got to 17, a short uphill par 4. His tee shot sailed into the rough above a greenside bunker. There would be no magic this time. His attempted flop splashed into the sand instead. He blasted out to 25 feet and three-putted for another double bogey. That put him in a position he's been familiar with for a long time: heading to 18 at the U.S. Open needing to make a birdie of consequence. It didn't happen. And as he disappeared into the clubhouse, along with it came the realization that at this point, it likely never will. ___ AP golf: recommended in this topic
Hamilton Spectator
22 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Marlins secure multiyear deal to again host Caribbean Series, AP source says
MIAMI (AP) — The Caribbean Series will return to the Miami Marlins' loanDepot park after the team reached a multiyear agreement with the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The deal will allow the Marlins, who hosted the Caribbean Series in 2024, to host three more editions of the winter league champions tournament beginning in 2028, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team has not made a formal announcement. ESPN first reported the news. The Marlins had already secured the 2028 edition of the tournament after bringing record numbers to Miami in 2024 — the first time the Caribbean Series was held at a major league ballpark. The future years are not yet set. A crowd of 36,677 watched Venezuela beat the Dominican Republic in the championship at loanDepot park — the largest crowd ever for a Caribbean Series game and a higher attendance than the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship game (36,098) between the United States and Shohei Ohtani's Japan club held at the same venue. Before returning to Miami, the Caribbean Series will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2026 and Hermosillo, Mexico, in 2027. ___ AP MLB:
28 minutes ago
A year after playoff loss, Lexi Thompson back in contention at Meijer LPGA Classic
BELMONT, Mich. -- Lexi Thompson was back in contention going into the weekend in her beloved Meijer LPGA Classic, a year after a playoff loss at Blythefield County Club. Making her sixth start of the season in a part-time tour schedule, Thompson birdied three of the last four holes in breezy afternoon conditions for a 3-under 69 and a 7-under total. The 2015 winner at Blythefield was a stroke behind leaders Karis Davidson, Carlota Ciganda, Hye-Jin Choi and Celine Boutier. 'The golf course is one thing. It's always in great shape for us, which we always look forward to," Thompson said after the bogey-free round on the tree-lined layout. "But the amount of support that the tournament gets and also how Meijer gives back to the community as well. It's not just a tournament. It's much bigger than that.' The 30-year-old from Florida won the last of her 11 LPGA Tour titles in 2019. 'Some days are harder than others and we get frustrated, but at the end of the day it is just golf,' said Thompson, also set to play next week in the major KPMG Women's PGA Championship in Texas. Davidson, playing in the second-to-last group off the first tee, birdied the par-4 16th and par-5 18th for a 70. 'We just really hung in there today,' Davidson said. 'Was a bit of a grind, and nice to get the couple birdies at the end.' Ciganda and Choi each shot 67, and Boutier had a 68, all playing the morning session. "Coming here the week before a major obviously gives you confidence for playing next week," Ciganda said. 'The course is one that I like. I enjoy coming here, and it's always fun playing in Grand Rapids.' Thompson was joined at 7 under by Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Amanda Doherty (69), Bronte Law (69), Minjee Lee (70) and Sofia Garcia (71). Grace Kim, also part of the playoff last year that Lilia Vu won, was 6 under after a 73. She bogeyed two of her last three holes to fall out of a tie for the lead. Mi Hyang Lee, the first-round leader after a 64, had a 75 to drop to 5 under. With the major days away at PGA Frisco, only three of the top 10 in the world are at Blythefield. Haeran Ryu, at No. 5 the highest-ranked player in the field, followed an opening 69 with a 74 to make the cut on the number at 1 under. Vu missed the cut with rounds of 77 and 75.
