Moving day at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic consisted of low scores and nail-biting finishes. Some players fought their way into the cutline, while others put up a low round to be in contention during the final two days of competition.
Kathleen Scavo maintained her first-round lead, despite some hiccups along the way. The California native carded a double bogey on the par-3 No. 7 but finished her round with a birdie and confidence heading into the third round.
“For the most part, I continued to play well. I had confidence from yesterday,” said Scavo. “I had a couple of hiccups out there, but I was able to recover well and made birdie on the last hole.”
Joining Scavo at the top is Australian Gabriela Ruffels. Despite starting the day off with a bogey, Ruffels turned the day around with six birdies, one of which resulted from an incredible shot that led to an easy two-putt and strong finish.
“I was really happy with the day. I started one-over through three [holes] actually, so I was happy that I stayed patient,” said Ruffels. “I would say my highlight was on 18. I had to cut hybrid over the tree and was able to finish with a birdie to tie the lead. I just stayed patient, made six birdies out there, and it was a pretty consistent day.”
Min A Yoon signed for a bogey-free, -6, 66 to join Ruffels and Scavo in the lead group on Saturday. The Korean claims playing with long-time friend Katie Yoo made her comfortable and sparked the low round.
“My shots and putting went better than yesterday,” said Yoon. “So I think that led to a good result. It’s been a while since I played with Katie, so it was definitely more comfortable, and I had a lot of fun playing with her. Maybe that’s why I finished with a better result today.”
Rounding out the top five, tied for fourth, are Kenzie Wright, Soo Bin Joo, Roberta Liti, and Emilee Hoffman. Wright carded a -7 round with eight birdies, four of which consecutively opened her round. Seventy players made the cut at -1, including Epson Tour ambassador Bailey Tardy who made the biggest move on the leaderboard from T129 to T56.
QUICK QUOTES
Celine Borge (-6, T11) on a -5 second round:
“I made some good up and downs, so that was good. And I holed some putts too. It’s a good feeling, knowing that you can play well.”
Soo Bin Joo (-8, T4) on jumping from T19 to T4:
“I was really proud of myself, especially for playing well in the heat today. I was staying really patient and I think that worked for me. I’m going to stick to my plan, stay patient, and won’t get so upset over the little mistakes.”
Bailey Tardy (-1, T56) on playing her way into the weekend after a first-round 79:
“I knew the cut was going to be 1-under, I saw that before I teed off and figured it wasn’t going to change. I just really wanted to give myself a chance and made a pretty good up and down on No. 9. I definitely didn’t hit the ball yesterday the way I’ve been hitting it, especially all off-season and practice rounds. Just to see that I can play the way I did in practice rounds and competition, and kind of pick up where I left off at Q-Series means a lot. Making a lot of birdies is what’s going to win you tournaments, and I did that today.”
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