Brits Laura Davies, Trish Johnson share U.S. Senior Women's lead
It's a little like the old country.
Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, host of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women's Open and the oldest 18-hole course in the United States, takes its inspiration from courses in the United Kingdom.
How fitting that after two days of competition the co-leaders are Britons Laura Davies and Trish Johnson, each at 4-under par with identical rounds of 71 both Thursday and Friday.
"It's not a true links (course) as such. Obviously we're not near the water," said Davies, a resident of Coventry, England, who averaged 266 yards off the tee on Friday.
"But it's got that feel to it," she said, "and you certainly could, if you chose to, play virtually every shot with a run-up. But I've tended to try and go through the air a little bit more with the shots."
Playing with Juli Inkster and Liselotte Neumann - the other two thirds of this power trio, with Inkster entering Saturday in third place at 1-under par and Neumann tied for fifth at 1-over, respectively - Davies caught fire during a stretch of 4 birdies in six holes. Each of the 5 birdies Davies carded were of at least 365 yards, where her drive was an advantage. Still, the short game is "where tournaments are won and lost," she said.
"I'm really pleased that - I had (two bogeys) out there - but overall played really solid," Davies said. "Putted really well. Holed out really well today. It's so hard to get the putts dead to the hole, and I made most of the ones coming back, which was nice."
Like Davies' group, Johnson embarked on Chicago Golf's outward nine with an afternoon start, subjected to 90-degree heat. Johnson struggled on the 352-yard No. 14, finding trees and taking a double-bogey 6. She rallied thereafter and scored an eagle at No. 4, handily clearing the strip bunker on the left side of the fairway before belting a 5-wood to the elevated green within seven feet of the cup.
"That was probably the best shot of the day, because that green is wicked," said Johnson, who lives in London. "Yeah, I hit it absolutely perfectly, just pitched into the bank and up to about 10 feet and rolled it in, so that was a bonus."
Finishing her day on a bogey didn't sit well with Johnson particularly after birdieing the prior hole, ("fairly chuffed," she said) which requires a blind drive to the fairway, but she was pleased with her position.
"But I mean, it's two days to go, and there's a long way to go," she said. "I could have played myself out of it today when I made double-bogey, if I let it go and made another double or something, and fortunately I didn't."
The leaderboard did take a slight flip-flop from Thursday, with first-round leader Elaine Crosby shooting a 5-over par 78 to fall into a tie for eighth-place, six shots behind the leader. Long-hitting Helen Alfredsson, who started the day 2 shots back of the lead, took a 9 on one hole and finished the day 6-over par yet still very comfortably tied for 19th place only 9 strokes behind the leaders.
Crosby didn't think the course played different from Thursday to Friday.
"No, I don't think so, I think I played different. I didn't hit it nearly as well as I did yesterday, I had some just weird shots," said the right-hander.
"Yesterday I think I hit about 15 greens," she said. "Today my swing just didn't feel good. That happens, so I'll practice a little bit this afternoon and hopefully get in the groove again and take off tomorrow. I'm in good position, and I'm just happy to be here."
Shooting 2-under for the day, Danielle Ammaccapane enters Saturday at even-par and one spot behind Inkster in fourth place.
Joining Davies, Inkster and Neumann among former U.S. Women's Open champions who made the cut to a low 50, plus ties, were: Pat Bradley, Amy Alcott, Jane Geddes, Betsy King and Hollis Stacy - sitting in a 26th-place tie, 7-over par like her sister, Martha Leach, a lifetime amateur golfer.
Twitter: @doberhelman1