China’s Miranda Wang followed up her first round of 6-under par 65 with a 66 on Friday and has a two-stroke lead in the weather-delayed FM Championship in Newton, Mass.
Dangerous weather conditions caused three delays in play and half of field still must finish their second rounds. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:15 p.m. and will resume for the remaining 24 groups at 7:00 a.m. Saturday.
Wang, 26, in her first full year on tour, has missed four of the last seven cuts, but did finish in eighth place at the Blue Bay LPGA in early March.
The Duke University graduate started her round with two birdies and finished it with three in a row.
My first time in this position, but I’m not unfamiliar with the leaderboard,” said Wang. “I will do my best in the weekend and this year we have really strong rookies coming in. It’s really competitive. I just want to keep up with the best.”
Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom posted a round of 66 and moved to 9 under after 36 holes.
Sagstrom, 32, played a bogey-free round and birdied four consecutive holes (Nos. 13-16) on the inward nine. The former LSU golfer only needed 26 putts during the stops and starts of the day.
“I’ve been in this position before so it’s nothing new,” said Sagstrom. “That’s what happens when you’re a veteran on Tour, you’re hoping you’ve been in enough and trying to win and give yourself chances.
“I’m just happy to be back here. I’ve been fighting with my head and my game a little bit over the last few months, so it’s really nice to be back and up in the mix.”
Three players who completed their rounds were at 8 under. Norway’s Celine Borge (66), Spain’s Azahara Munoz, who has back-to-back rounds of 68, and Australia’s Hannah Green (68) were three strokes off the pace.
Sei Young Kim of Korea, who held a share of the first round lead at 7 under, was 1 under through four holes and is tied for third place.
The other first round leaders finished their rounds. England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff carded an even-par score of 72 and is tied for seventh at 7 under. Allisen Corpuz struggled to a 2 over score and is tied for 17th place at 5 under.
A humorous scene happened when the threesome of Green, Lauren Coughlin and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul raced up the ninth fairway to finish before another delay.
“I don’t know who kind of said let’s do it. I think it was probably Jeeno, and all of us completely agreed,” said Green. “We were all slowly jogging and Jeeno was going quicker and we’re all catching up and all the caddies ran as well. I think if we didn’t run on that hole we would still be putting on the 9th green.
“I am just glad it was a team effort and that everyone wanted to finish after already two delays.”
Nelly Korda birdied the second and third holes and was at 7 under after four holes when play was suspended.
