When life hands you lemons, make lemonade, but when life hands you a restart when you’re six-over through five holes in a major, take it and run! That’s exactly what Sung Hyun Park did at the Evian Championship when the LPGA Tour decided to scrap Thursday’s first round due to the weather and ultimately make the year’s final major 54-holes.
The reigning U.S. Open champ took advantage of the ultimate mulligan on Friday by shooting an 8-under par 63 and grabbing the first round lead during the revised first round at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.
Sung Hyun Park opens with 63* at Evian today.
Why the asterisk? She was 6-over — yes, 6-OVER — yesterday when early scores were scrapped.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) September 15, 2017
“I guess it was for me, yes,” Park said regarding the break she got due to the restart. “I forgot about yesterday’s record, and I just focused on my play today.”
“To be honest, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised,” Park said on the LPGA’s decision to wipe away Thursday’s scores, “but what I did was I just wanted to focus on my game today and go on.”
Park fired a second-round 73 and will enter Sunday’s final round four shots back of the leader, Moriya Jutanugarn.
For all of Park’s fourtune, there were some on the other side of the coin and they didn’t share the same sentiments. Jessica Korda, who got it to 2-under par and into a share of the lead with So Yeon Ryu before play was called on Thursday was not thrilled.
“It sucked because I was playing so well yesterday, and some people weren’t playing so well yesterday that are playing well today, and there’s nothing I can do about that,” Korda said. “I just need to concentrate on myself.”
“If you are So Yeon Ryu, you have to feel some kind of injustice that all your hard work was wasted and Sung Hyun Park’s poor play was completely wiped away,” Golf Channel analyst and former major winner Karen Stupples said during Friday’s broadcast. “It makes a lot of people feel kind of empty and a bit hollow, really, but there are so many things that go on in the background and in the back room, that we are just not able to be part of. None of us really know what went on there, apart from the commissioner, the players he talked to, the rules officials and the sponsors. Ultimately, as a spectator, I feel kind of empty by it, and the whole thing leaves me a little bit upset, really.”
Players will finish the final round of the final major championship of the season on Sunday. Here are the highlights from Saturday’s second round.
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