France's Cernousek seizes lead at LPGA Portland Classic
The 22-year-old carded an eagle at the par-five seventh and added a birdie at the ninth to cap a sensational 64, admitting she let out "a little scream" when she almost holed out for an eagle at the ninth.
"I thought it was going to go in," she said. "I'm super happy to hit the pin because it stayed pretty close and it was cool," she said.
"I felt very good with my whole game," added Cernousek, who turned pro in December after winning a US collegiate golf title playing for Texas A&M last year.
Cernousek was one stroke in front of a group that included former world number one Park Sung-hyun and South Korean compatriot Lee5 Jeong-eun, two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Canada, Chinese rookie Miranda Wang and American Gurleen Kaur.
Henderson and Wang both nabbed seven birdies without a bogey, Henderson teeing off on 10 and launching her round with four straight birdies before adding three more coming in.
Wang had five of her birdies on the back nine, including four in a row at 12, 13, 14 and 15.
Lee5 had an eagle and six birdies with one bogey. Park had eight birdies to offset her lone bogey, as did Kaur.
Five more players were tied on 66 and another eight on five-under 67.
Juli Inkster, the 65-year-old LPGA Hall of Famer making a rare appearance on tour as she preps for the US Women's Senior Open, fired a three-under 69.
"I was a little nervous teeing off," the 31-time LPGA winner admitted. "Settled in pretty good. You know, I actually thought I putted really well today.
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Hot putter carries MacIntyre to three-shot lead at BMW Championship
McIntyre delivered a masterclass on the rain-soaked greens at Caves Valley after an afternoon thunderstorm halted play for more than two hours. "The last six holes is probably as good as I've ever putted in a stretch of holes, just so consistent," MacIntyre said after posting an eight-under par 62. "When you get the eye on, it's free flowing and it's nice." His late burst carried him past world number one Scottie Scheffler -- who was in the clubhouse on four-under 66 and ended the day alone in third. Fleetwood overtook him with a 33-foot birdie at 18 to cap a 65. Two-under after his second bogey of the day on 12, MacIntyre poured in a 66-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th to launch his scoring closing run. He followed with a 40-footer at 14 and a 17-foot birdie at 15. He fired out of the rough to 12 feet at 16 and curled in that birdie putt, then drained a 22-footer at the tough par-three 17th. MacIntyre capped his round with a five-foot birdie at 18. The 29-year-old Scot's longest birdie streak on the PGA Tour -- beating his previous of four straight -- helped him match his career-low round on tour. MacIntyre, who finished runner-up to J.J. Spaun at the US Open in June, said he'd learned during the final-round rain delay at Oakmont and kept himself warmed up during Thursday's delay. "It came at a tough time, but it gave the course a little more to us," he said. "The greens were really slick early on when they were dry. When I went back out, they felt a little bit slower, a little bit smoother." Fleetwood had five birdies in an impressive bogey-free round, bouncing back after a late fade on Sunday saw him come up short in his latest bid for a first US tour title at the St. Jude Championship. Scheffler in the hunt Scheffler, whose four victories this season include major triumphs at the PGA Championship and the British Open, got off to a strong start with three birdies in the first four holes. After back-to-back bogeys at nine and 10 he birdied three of his last four, drilling a 16-foot putt at 15 and a five-footer at 16 before draining a 26-foot birdie at the last. Scheffler said the course was "significantly softer" after the storm delay. "Golf course definitely got a bit easier but did a good job of taking advantage of the holes I had left," Scheffler said. Fifty players are in the field this week and Scheffler, the leader in the playoff points race, is already assured of making it into the 30-player field for next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta. Rory McIlroy, world number two and second in the playoff standings who opted to skip the first playoff event, carded an "awful" even par 70 that featured three bogeys and three birdies. "Drove the ball terribly," the Northern Ireland star said. It was a tough day for Justin Rose, who edged Spaun in a playoff for the St. Jude title in Memphis on Sunday. Two-under through 10, he found the water at both 11 and 12 on the way to a bogey and double-bogey and carded a one-over 71.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
France's Cernousek seizes lead at LPGA Portland Classic
After teeing off on 10 and making two birdies in her first 10 holes, Cernousek roared up the leaderboard with birdies at four, five and six. The 22-year-old carded an eagle at the par-five seventh and added a birdie at the ninth to cap a sensational 64, admitting she let out "a little scream" when she almost holed out for an eagle at the ninth. "I thought it was going to go in," she said. "I'm super happy to hit the pin because it stayed pretty close and it was cool," she said. "I felt very good with my whole game," added Cernousek, who turned pro in December after winning a US collegiate golf title playing for Texas A&M last year. Cernousek was one stroke in front of a group that included former world number one Park Sung-hyun and South Korean compatriot Lee5 Jeong-eun, two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Canada, Chinese rookie Miranda Wang and American Gurleen Kaur. Henderson and Wang both nabbed seven birdies without a bogey, Henderson teeing off on 10 and launching her round with four straight birdies before adding three more coming in. Wang had five of her birdies on the back nine, including four in a row at 12, 13, 14 and 15. Lee5 had an eagle and six birdies with one bogey. Park had eight birdies to offset her lone bogey, as did Kaur. Five more players were tied on 66 and another eight on five-under 67. Juli Inkster, the 65-year-old LPGA Hall of Famer making a rare appearance on tour as she preps for the US Women's Senior Open, fired a three-under 69. "I was a little nervous teeing off," the 31-time LPGA winner admitted. "Settled in pretty good. You know, I actually thought I putted really well today. © 2025 AFP
France 24
21 hours ago
- France 24
Gauff dominates Bronzetti to reach Cincinnati last eight
Gauff got a free pass into the last 16 when intended opponent Dayana Yastremska withdrew before the start with injury. The American, who won the Cincinnati title in 2023 before carrying her momentum to a US Open crown three weeks later, will next meet either seventh seed Jasmine Paolini or former Wimbledon winner Barbora Krejcikova. Gauff will be playing her third 1000-level quarter-final of the season after Madrid and Rome -- both of which she went on to reach the final. The 21-year-old, who lost an early break in both sets, finally secured a spot in the last eight with a concluding break of the 61st-ranked Italian's serve as Bronzetti hit long after 79 minutes on court. Gauff said that memories of her title success here two years ago come to the surface whenever she is on the center court. "It's super special to play on this court, I have so many memories from 2023. "I played controlled but aggressive, but sometimes I was a bit passive. It's tough because the ball really flies and she was giving me no pace.
