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CHANDLER, Ariz. — Friday's afternoon wave at the 2025 Ford Championship turned into the Lilia and Lydia Show.
As in, Lydia Ko and Lilia Vu. For Ko, there was a quick turn-around from flirting with the cutline to getting within striking distance of the lead. For Vu, it was a steady march up the leaderboard to the outright lead after 36 holes at Whirlwind Golf Club's Catttail Course at Wild Horse Pass.
Friday's early wave was highlighted by the duo of Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, who were playing in a ********* with Patty Tavatanakit. Korda shot 7-under 65 while Thitikul shot 8-under 64 and those two were tied for the lead at 12 under.
A few hours later, Vu took the outright lead at 13 under with a 20-foot birdie putt, her second birdie in her last two holes and seventh overall. After a not-so-great chip on the par-5 17th, Vu recovered with the putter for her eighth birdie of the day and a two-shot lead at 14 under. Her putt on 18 came up just short of one last birdie, which would have tied the 9-under 63 carded by Charley Hull in the first round. Still, a bogey-free 8-under 64 has her two clear of Hull, Korda and Thitikul.
Vu credited her putting.
"I think I'm just really focused over the ball," she said. "When you get that feeling like, okay, this is the putt I have in front of me, a chance to make a birdie. Just read it. You've hit the putt a million times. Just go out there and stick to your process."
She also surged into the lead playing her Friday round in the windier afternoon conditions, something she said she likes as it helps focus on the task at hand.
"Yeah, absolutely. I don't know, just kind of cancels out the noise and you're just in your shot, in your moment," Vu said.
Ko, meanwhile, grinded out a 67 after hitting only 11 greens Friday. After a bogey on the par-5 12th that dropped her to 5 over, one shot off the cutline, Ko stacked up three straight pars before a birdie on the 16th. Then, on the 17th, she was on in two and drained a 20-footer for eagle to get to 8 under. One last birdie on the 18th got her to 9 under and into the top 10 heading to the weekend.
"It was kind of good to kind of get that birdie momentum. But, yeah, nice way to cap off the round making three threes to finish the round," she said.
The tournament started with all of the top-10 ranked players in the world as well as 19 of the top 20 and 40 of the top 50.
After 36 holes, nine of those top 10 are heading to the weekend:
Jin Young Ko was the lone top-10 player to miss the cut, and she did so by five shots.
The final group on Saturday will be Vu and Thitikul, while Korda will be joined by Hull in the second-to-last pairing.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA Ford Championship: Most top-ranked players advanced to weekend
Continue reading...
As in, Lydia Ko and Lilia Vu. For Ko, there was a quick turn-around from flirting with the cutline to getting within striking distance of the lead. For Vu, it was a steady march up the leaderboard to the outright lead after 36 holes at Whirlwind Golf Club's Catttail Course at Wild Horse Pass.
Friday's early wave was highlighted by the duo of Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, who were playing in a ********* with Patty Tavatanakit. Korda shot 7-under 65 while Thitikul shot 8-under 64 and those two were tied for the lead at 12 under.
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A few hours later, Vu took the outright lead at 13 under with a 20-foot birdie putt, her second birdie in her last two holes and seventh overall. After a not-so-great chip on the par-5 17th, Vu recovered with the putter for her eighth birdie of the day and a two-shot lead at 14 under. Her putt on 18 came up just short of one last birdie, which would have tied the 9-under 63 carded by Charley Hull in the first round. Still, a bogey-free 8-under 64 has her two clear of Hull, Korda and Thitikul.
Vu credited her putting.
"I think I'm just really focused over the ball," she said. "When you get that feeling like, okay, this is the putt I have in front of me, a chance to make a birdie. Just read it. You've hit the putt a million times. Just go out there and stick to your process."
She also surged into the lead playing her Friday round in the windier afternoon conditions, something she said she likes as it helps focus on the task at hand.
"Yeah, absolutely. I don't know, just kind of cancels out the noise and you're just in your shot, in your moment," Vu said.
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Ko, meanwhile, grinded out a 67 after hitting only 11 greens Friday. After a bogey on the par-5 12th that dropped her to 5 over, one shot off the cutline, Ko stacked up three straight pars before a birdie on the 16th. Then, on the 17th, she was on in two and drained a 20-footer for eagle to get to 8 under. One last birdie on the 18th got her to 9 under and into the top 10 heading to the weekend.
"It was kind of good to kind of get that birdie momentum. But, yeah, nice way to cap off the round making three threes to finish the round," she said.
Best field in non-major on LPGA in 15 years
The tournament started with all of the top-10 ranked players in the world as well as 19 of the top 20 and 40 of the top 50.
After 36 holes, nine of those top 10 are heading to the weekend:
- Nelly Korda, T-2
- Atthaya Thitikul, T-2
- Lydia Ko, T-10
- Ruoning Yin, T-45
- Hannah Green, T-59
- Lilia Vu, 1
- Ayaka Furue, 8
- Jin Young Ko, T-110
- Hae-Ran Ryu, T-14
- Charley Hull, T-2
Jin Young Ko was the lone top-10 player to miss the cut, and she did so by five shots.
The final group on Saturday will be Vu and Thitikul, while Korda will be joined by Hull in the second-to-last pairing.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: LPGA Ford Championship: Most top-ranked players advanced to weekend
Continue reading...
