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Friday in Portland, the Frenchwoman Perrine Delacour was again intractable by returning another blank bogey card punctuated by 5 birdies. In the lead with a one-step lead, she is now closely followed by the formidable Swede Linn Grant.
And if the successes of Céline Boutier this summer had served as a trigger for Perrine Delacour? After 36 holes, the player trained at Golf de l'Ailette and passed through the France pole of the FFGolf, totals 14 birdies and has still not conceded the slightest bogey at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club course in Portland!
A solidity that allows him to consider winning for the first time on the LPGA for his 11th season in the elite and a few months after having decided to take a step back to solve problems related to his mental health. The day after his formidable 63 signed in the rain Delacour, part of the 10th, still achieved an almost faultless in the big game with again 16 greens out of 18 touchdowns in regulation.
Perrine Delacour, statements
“I just remained patient. Leader on the first day by playing 9 strokes under par is never easy because we know that we will not reproduce this performance. We had to adjust the settings to the flag positions, especially at the level of the wedges, ”confided the Frenchwoman on the LPGA website after having come close to a last birdie at 9 for a few millimeters.
“But it was definitely more enjoyable. I mean, even though the bag was still wet from the day before, it was definitely nicer to be in shorts and a polo shirt instead of playing in rain gear. At 29, she will start on Saturday alongside Linn Grant, the Swedish number 1 in Europe in 2022, winner of her first LPGA tournament in July a few weeks after her return to the USA after refusing for two years to be vaccinated.
If she wants to lift her first trophy on Sunday, Perrine Delacour will also have to be wary of a return from Megan Khang, victorious last week in the play-off. But Picardy refuses to project itself. "I'm the kind of person who thinks too much." explains Delacour.
“So the goal is going to be to do stuff to keep my mind busy and not think about golf”. Behind this trio, 7 players 4 strokes behind the tricolor leader can also have their say this weekend. Which will not be the case for Lydia Ko and Lilia Vu.
The former New Zealand world number 1 did not make the cut and the current best player in the world is in 54th position. A place that she shares with the second representative of tricolor golf present at the start of the penultimate LPGA tournament before the Solheim Cup.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard returned an excellent card of 68 on Friday thanks to a start to the 2nd round with the pedal to the metal. Five birdies came staked his first 8 holes. More precise on her face-offs (12 fairways out of 14), the native of Montélimar was above all more comfortable on the greens with 28 putts against 34 the day before!