Knowledge of course helps So Yeon Ryu

2012 event champion ends round with 7 birdies, trails leader by 4 strokes

7/19/2014

Given her track record, So Yeon Ryu has a bit of familiarity with the par-71 course at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

Ryu won the 2012 Marathon Classic — when it was called the Jamie Farr Classic — and used that familiarity to her advantage during the course of the first two rounds of the LPGA tournament.

She easily made the cut for today’s third round; Ryu shot a 4-under-par 67 on Friday to charge to a tie for fourth in the field with Rebecca Lee-Bentham. Both shot a 135 through the tournament’s first two rounds.

RELATED CONTENT: Laura Diaz leads half-Marathon

RELATED CONTENT: Marathon Classic notebook from Day 2

PHOTO GALLERY: Click here to view more photos

Ryu had seven birdies and three bogeys in the second round, including a birdie on the par-4 10th hole and bogey on the par-5 No. 11, her first two holes of the day.

“Today’s tee shot was pretty great, so I had a lot of great chances to make a great iron shot,” Ryu said. “I missed a couple of birdie putts, but still, at the same time, I made a lot of long birdie putts.

“So I think more about the combination. But I still need to be working on my iron shot.”

Ryu couldn’t pick a particular favorite hole on the Sylvania course, but starting on the 10th hole, Ryu played those two just before making the turn to her back nine.

“Seventeen and 18 is par-5, so it’s still a good chance to make a birdie,” Ryu said.

At the start of the tournament, the usual suspects weren’t necessarily a part of the leaderboard. But on the second day, Ryu was one of several notable names who made the cut.

So Yeon Ryu talks to the media after the 9th hole from THE BLADE on Vimeo.

Consider those who won’t be playing today: Michelle Wie, the Women’s U.S. Open champion, finished 8 over par (74-76) while Jacqui Concolino, who finished tied for fifth with Angela Stanford in the 2013 Marathon Classic, finished Friday 10 over par (77-75). Stanford (72-72) also did not make the cut.

Ryu played in a group with Wie, the Women’s U.S. Open champion, and Mo Martin, the Ricoh Women’s British Open champion.

“It was really great to be playing with the two major champions,” Ryu said. “It feels always good to be playing with major champions.”

And, she laughed, “I always feel I'm one of the other major champions.”

The feeling was mutual for Martin. “They’re great to play with,” Martin said. “I mean, they’re both super nice. It was kind of fun to have the U.S. Open winner and the British Open winner. Our games are different. [Wie], she’s got a lot more length off the tee. I’m sure that was fun for the gallery, too.”

Yet while the second day of any LPGA tournament comes with the pressure of making the cut, Ryu didn’t look at Friday — or any other day of a tournament — in that light.

“For me, every day is just a new day,” Ryu said “[It doesn’t] really matter if this is the final round or first round or second round. For me, it’s the same day every day.”

Contact Rachel Lenzi at: rlenzi@theblade.com, 419-724-6510, or on Twitter @RLenziBlade.