Pettersen out in front

31 July 2015 07:47

Norway's Suzann Pettersen set a testing clubhouse target and looked set to lead overnight in the Ricoh Women's British Open at Turnberry on Friday.

Out in the third group of the day at 6:52am, Pettersen carded a superb 69 to reach seven under par for 36 holes.

That temporarily put her alongside first-round leader Kim Hyo-Joo, but the South Korean was a late starter and plummeted down the leaderboard after following her opening 65 with a six-over-par 78 .

With the wind strengthening throughout the day and rain also lashing the Ayrshire venue, Pettersen found herself two shots ahead of So Yeon Ryu, world number two Lydia Ko and Teresa Lu.

Jin-Young Ko was out on the course on four under with three holes to play, offering the only remaining threat to Pettersen beginning the weekend with a useful lead over the field.

"Today was a very solid round of golf," said 34-year-old Pettersen. "I felt I was in 100 per cent control of the ball, the flight, the spin - everything you need to do in conditions like this. So this ranks pretty high as a good round of golf.

"The ball is not flying anywhere. It's cold. Today is a day where you try to make it easier on yourself and I had a very pain-free round. Kept myself out of trouble, had a lot of looks (at birdies). It's tough to putt, as well, in conditions like this, so easy pars is a nice thing."

The Oslo-born player would love to add the British Open to her two major titles, especially after finishing a shot outside the play-off 12 months ago and fourth in 2013, having never previously recorded a top-10 performance.

"I'm getting older, I'm getting wiser, I'm learning," Pettersen added. "And I guess that's why this game is so great. Every year you learn something different, how you can kind of manoeuvre yourself around a golf course. I'm probably playing a bit smarter."

Former US Open champion Michelle Wie was forced to pull out of the event during the second round after aggravating an ankle injury. Wie was 10 over for the day and 14 over for the championship when she withdrew on the 13th hole.

"As frustrating as it is it just seems like I can't force it any more," Wie said.

England's Melissa Reid led the British challenge, after a two-under 70 put her on one under par, sharing 10th with four others including first-round frontrunner Kim.

The round of the day came from Sweden's Maria McBride, who had a 79 on the opening day but produced a bogey-free six-under-par 66 late in the day on Friday, making light of the tough conditions to climb into a share of 21st place.

Source: PA