It wasn’t the start to the second round that Mina Harigae had hoped for, but she got it turned around in a big way at the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management.
Starting on the back nine at Galgorm Golf Club, the 12-year LPGA veteran opened with four consecutive pars before bogeys at No. 14 and 16. Harigae attributed the shaky start to a driver gone awry.
“I was telling Travis [Kreiter], my fiancé who also caddies for me, that I felt really closed at impact and I couldn’t help but feel that way. He was like, ‘Well, you can’t really get through it if you’re on your back foot.’ It made a lot of sense,” said Harigae. “I was hitting my irons just fine, but it was my driver that felt a little off. As soon as I fixed that then it felt normal again, so I was able to hit fairways.”
That was just what the doctor ordered. Then beginning at No. 17, Harigae rattled off six straight birdies and didn’t miss a green in regulation over the stretch. The mid-round adjustment turned a so-so day into a strong performance, as Harigae signed for a 4-under par 69.
“I was finally hitting good drives, started to get in a groove,” said Harigae, who is 7-under overall and six shots off the lead. “I made a lot of good putts, they weren’t tap-ins. We weren’t able to play a practice round on this [Galgorm] course, so a lot of blind tee shots. On No. 2, hit a good drive and pin was tucked way, way back, couldn’t get all the way there. Made a really big breaking putt from like 20 feet. Probably my longest putt on that stretch.
“I’m in a good spot. This course yields a lot of birdies, but you have to hit it well.”
Male and female competitors will play at Galgorm for both the third and fourth rounds.
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