From the day she turned professional, observers of the women’s game felt it would be just a matter of time before Jennifer Kupcho won on the LPGA Tour.
That win is within reach for the former Wake Forest standout going into the weekend at the LPGA Drive-On Championship at Golden Ocala.
Kupcho, who battles migraine headaches on the course, is tied at the top after a second straight 67 on Friday, putting her atop the scoreboard with Austin Ernst. Ernst, like Kupcho, has a pair of 67s on her card at the two Americans stand at 10-under par at the halfway mark.
For Kupcho, the battle is constant. “Even right now everything is really blurry. I can’t really see anything over to the left. So, yeah, it’s definitely really hard. I pretty much just lean on my caddie a lot, just trust him and try to do the best that I can,” she said after her first round. “Usually, the blurriness goes away within 45 minutes, but they kind of come on at any point,” Kupcho added. “I was standing over a shot and that’s when it kicked in. I never really know.”
Kupcho and Ernst are two shots clear of Spain’s Carlota Ciganda, who put up the week’s low score on day two, adding a seven-under par 65 to her opening 71 and is alone at eight-under par.
Nelly Korda, looking for her second consecutive victory, added a 70 to her opening 67 and was in at seven-under par.
Shocking news after day two was world’s No. 1, Jin Young Ko, missing the 36-hole cut after rounds of 75-72 left her at three-over par. The cut came at two-over.
The pleasant surprise from the first two rounds was 57-year-old Laura Davies making it to the weekend. She shot 69 on Friday and was in at even par, tied for 33rd.
World’s No. 2 Sei Young Kim was at two-under along with Danielle Kang.
