INDY WOMEN CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES

Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001

Brickyard Crossing Golf Club | Indianapolis, Ind. | Aug. 16-19, 2018

 

Second-Round Notes

Aug. 18, 2018

 

Course Setup: 36-36–72, 6,308 yards (R2 scoring average: 70.348)

Weather: Dense fog until 8:30 a.m., light winds from the north-northeast with temperatures in the 70s.

Media Contacts: Brianne Wigley (+1 386-341-7331), Al Lunsford (+1 336-264-3117)

 

Quick Links:

• Leaderboard (Golf Channel Saturday coverage: 5-7 p.m. ET)
• Online Media Center (Groupings, statistics, hole locations, yardages, etc.)
• Transcripts
• Monday Box

 

	Player	To Par	Score
T1	Lizette Salas	-13	62-69—131
T1	Sung Hyun Park	-13	68-63—131
T1	Jin Young Ko	-13	65-66—131
4	Amy Yang	-12	68-64—132
T5	Nasa Hataoka	-11	64-69—133
T5	Danielle Kang	-11	65-68—133
T5	Angel Yin	-11	64-69—133
T5	Caroline Hedwall	-11	65-68—133

 

SALAS, PARK, KO SHARE LEAD THROUGH TWO LAPS AT INDY

Reigning Rolex Co-Player of the Year Sung Hyun Park took the field by storm on Friday morning, posting a season-best 9-under par 63 to tie for the lead with American Lizette Salas and 2018 LPGA rookie Jin Young Ko at -13. The second round of the Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001 was suspended Friday at 2:32pm due to unplayable course conditions after storms passed through the area. Play resumed at 6:25 p.m. and was suspended due to darkness at 8:22 p.m., with the entire afternoon wave resuming play at 7:45 a.m. Saturday.

Ko had to play the entire front nine on Saturday morning, and did so in style with birdies on four of her first five holes to finish with a career-best 36-hole score of 131 and tie the lead. Ko is working with a new caddie this week, Jeff Brighton, and she said she’s trying not to put too much pressure on herself or him this week.

“I don't want to try too hard on the course, just I’m really trying to just enjoy it on the course with my new caddie,” Ko said on Saturday morning.

 

IN HER WORDS

“I'm feeling really confident about it, especially the way I'm hitting it from tee to green. I don't make many mistakes. And I think this week I'm also having an advantage that I actually carried the ball really far, so I'm hitting less -- not as much club as a lot of the girls out here. And no, I just feel like I can go at all the pins that are out there, and it's just a nice feeling. And it's whether I can -- I just need to start -- I'm starting to make more putts now, but if I can start dropping some more, I will definitely be up there.”

• Caroline Hedwall on her play through 36 holes

 

BATTLE FOR THE TOP SPOT

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn is in her third week at the top of the world rankings since she ascended to the top after her third win of the 2018 season at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.

There could be a change at the top of the rankings following the IWiT Championship – if current co-leader No. 4 Sung Hyun Park picks up her third win of the season this week AND Jutanugarn finishes sixth or worse Park will jump up to No. 1. Rolex Rankings No. 2 So Yeon Ryu also has a chance to reclaim the top spot with a win AND Jutanugarn finishes third or worse. Due to the weather, Ryu did not finish her second round Friday and is currently 3-over par for the round through eight holes.

 

NO EXPECTATIONS, GOOD RESULTS FOR KANG

The 2018 LPGA season has been full of ups and downs for major champion Danielle Kang. She started the year with two top-five finishes in her first three starts, yet in her next five starts she failed to see the top-30. After a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open in June, Kang has finished: WD, CUT, T33, CUT, CUT.

Kang is bogey-free through 36 holes in Indy and has a fresh outlook to thank. “I just have been kind of feeling like I was in a little bit of a funk, so I told my caddie that this week we were just going to pick a number and play my game and forget all the swing thoughts, forget everything, and just kind of play it by my feel.”

 

PLAYER NOTES

Rolex Rankings No. 13 Jin Young Ko (T1, -13)

• Ko, 23, is from Seoul, Republic of Korea
• Ko is one of five players to go bogey-free through 36 holes
• Ko’s 36-hole score of 131 bests her previous low by three strokes (134 at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open)
• Ko’s held a share of the second-round lead once in her LPGA career, during her wire-to-wire win at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
• On Thursday, Ko matched her lowest round to par of the 2018 season (shot -7 in the opening round of her win at the 2018 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open)
• Ko is the current leader in the 2018 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings
• Ko is a two-time LPGA winner and has nine additional wins on the LPGA of Korea Tour
• In 17 starts this season, Ko has a win and eight additional top-10 finishes and ranks second on Tour in scoring average (69.69)

 

Rolex Rankings No. 26 Lizette Salas (T1, -13)

• Salas, 29, is from Azusa, Calif. and played collegiately at the University of Southern California
• Salas’ 36-hole score of 13-under par 131 bests her previous career low by two strokes
• Through 36 holes Salas has hit 27 of 28 fairways, and 30 of 36 greens in regulation
• Salas tied her career-low round on Thursday (-10, 62) and set a new IWiT Championship competitive course record, besting Lexi Thompson’s 9-under par 63 in the first round in 2017
• Salas has one LPGA win (2014 Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC) and 25 total top-10 finishes in her LPGA career, including three in 2018
• Salas holds at least a share of the second-round lead for the first time since the 2015 Meijer LPGA Classic where she finished T2
• At the 2017 IWiT Championship, Salas finished T5 which kickstarted a run of six straight top-13 finishes
• Salas is a three-time member of the United States Solheim Cup team (2013, 2015, 2017)

 

Rolex Rankings No. 4 Sung Hyun Park (T1, -13)

• Park, 24, is from Seoul, Republic of Korea
• Park had a bogey-free round of 63 with nine birdies to shoot her lowest round of the 2018 season on Friday, one off her career-low
• Park’s 36-hole score of 131 matches her career-low – she shot 131 thru 36 holes during her win at the 2018 Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic
• Park has held at least a share of the second-round lead five times in her career, most recently at the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship where she went on to win
• Park, a four-time LPGA winner and two-time major champion, ranks second on Tour with two wins in 2018
• In 2017, Park became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards in the same year since Nancy Lopez in 1978 – she is currently second in the 2018 Rolex Player of the Year standings

 

Rolex Rankings No. 28 Amy Yang (4, -12)

• Yang, 29, is from Ilsan, Republic of Korea and resides in Orlando, Fla.
• Yang’s 36-hole total of 132 matches her career-low, which she previously shot twice including at the 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open
• Yang’s 8-under 64 in the second round matches her lowest round of the season
• Yang is one of five players to go bogey-free through 36 holes this week
• Yang has seven top-15 finishes in 14 starts in 2018
• All three of Yang’s LPGA victories have come in Asia (two in Thailand, one in Korea); she has three additional wins on the LET (Sweden, Germany, Australia) and one additional win on the KLPGA (Korea)
• Yang finished T4 at the 2016 Rio Olympics representing the Republic of Korea

 

Rolex Rankings No. 16 Nasa Hataoka (T5, -11)

• Hataoka, 19, is from Ibaraki, Japan
• Hataoka’s 3-under par 69 on Friday is her 11^th round in the 60s since the first-round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship where she captured her first LPGA win
• Hataoka tied her career-low 18-hole score to par on Thursday, her third round of -8 this season
• Hataoka became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2018 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G
• In 2018, Hataoka has made 14 of 17 cuts and has six top-10 finishes including her win and two runner-ups – she is currently ranked fourth on the 2018 Official Money List with $952,134
• Hataoka will be a member of Team Japan at the 2018 UL International Crown
• Hataoka was the medalist at the 2017 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn Priority Category 12 for the 2018 LPGA Tour season

 

Rolex Rankings No. 25 Danielle Kang (T5, -11)

• Kang, 25, is from San Francisco, Calif., resides in Las Vegas, Nev. and played collegiately at Pepperdine University
• Kang’s 36-hole total of 133 is the third lowest of her career
• Kang is 28 of 28 in fairways hit and is one of five players to go bogey-free through two rounds
• Kang has back-to-back rounds in the 60s for the first time since the Kingsmill Championship presented by GEICO in May
• Kang has one LPGA win (2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) and 18 total top-10 finishes in her LPGA career, including four in 2018
• Since finishing fourth at the U.S. Women’s Open in June, Kang has just one made cut - a T33 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
• In 2017, Kang played in her first Solheim Cup representing Team United States

 

Rolex Rankings No. 172 Caroline Hedwall (T5, -11)

• Hedwall, 29, is from Taby, Sweden and played collegiately at Oklahoma State University
• Hedwall’s 36-hole score of 133 ties her career-low, which she most recently recorded at the 2018 Marathon Classic where she went on to finish T9
• Hedwall shot her lowest round of the 2018 season on Thursday with a 65
• Hedwall, a 2011 LPGA rookie, has 11 top-10 finishes on the LPGA including a T9 at the 2018 Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I
• Hedwall is a five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, where she was the 2011 Rookie and Player of the Year, and has three wins on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour
• On the international stage, Hedwall is a three-time European Solheim Cup team member and represented Team Sweden at the 2014 UL International Crown – she will be a member of Team Sweden again at the 2018 UL International Crown

 

Rolex Rankings No. 47 Angel Yin (T5, -11)

• Yin, 19, is from Arcadia, Calif.
• Yin’s 36-hole score of 133 ties her career-best mark, she shot 133 at the 2018 Kingsmill Championship where she finished T36
• Yin’s 8-under 64 in the first round bested her previous career-low score by one stroke; she’s recorded a 65 three times, most recently in the third round of the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia
• In 2018, Yin has made 12 cuts in 18 starts with a career-best T3 finish at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in April
• As a rookie in 2017, Yin was picked by Team USA Solheim Cup Captain Juli Inkster to compete and finished with an overall record of 1-1-1
• Yin claimed her maiden professional title with a dramatic playoff victory over In-Kyung Kim at the Ladies European Tour (LET) 2017 season-ending Omega Dubai Ladies Classic

 

QUICK HITS

• Second round play was delayed for one hour prior to the start of play on Friday
• Round two was suspended at 2:32 p.m. due to unplayable course conditions
• Play resumed at 6:25 p.m. after a delay of 3 hours 53 minutes
• Play was stopped at 8:22 p.m. Friday due to darkness and resumed at 7:45 a.m. Saturday
• The third round is scheduled to start at 12:20 p.m. in groups of three, off of the 1st and 10th tees
• 73 players made the cut at 4-under par or better, matching the lowest cutline of the 2018 season (-4, Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic)

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Tournament: @IWITChamp; #IWiTCHAMP

LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)

 

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS

18 holes: 62, Lizette Salas, 2018 first round

36 holes: 129, Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko, 2017

54 holes: 197, Lexi Thompson, 2017

*Inaugural event in 2017 was 54-holes; will be 72-holes in 20