Yamamoto extends lead at Senior Women's Open

Kaori Yamamoto didn’t play in the 2023 U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Instead, she carried the bag for her dear friend Eika Otake.

“I was dreaming of attending this tournament, and then last year I was caddying for my best friend, and then I was thinking, ‘I’m going to make it next year,’ and that was kind of my dream,” Yamamoto said Friday after her second-consecutive subpar record round at the sixth U.S. Senior Women’s Open. “So far I can’t believe my position, but, yeah, I’m doing well. I’m proud of my golf today.”

Yamamoto, who was the first-round leader by a stroke at Fox Chapel Golf Club, extended her lead after a three-and-a half hour delay to begin the round.

She shot a second consecutive 4-under-par 67 and now sits at a two-round record 8-under 134.

“I can’t believe that I made that score (Friday),” Yamamoto said. “I’m so happy to be here. My iron shots were very good today, so that’s why I had a lot of chances at making birdies. But I have a big regret that I couldn’t make some.

“I thought I would get more birdies, but on the other hand, I had good par putts a lot. That’s why I had a good score.”

While she only hit 10 of 14 fairways during Round 2, she did manage to reach the greens in regulation on 17 of the 18 holes. She finished with 32 putts in what is her first tournament in the United States.

Play was suspended for darkness at 8:22 p.m., and the round will resume Saturday morning. The field will be trimmed to the top 50 and ties at the conclusion of the round.

Lisa Grimes, who was tied for second after Round 1, couldn’t finish her round because of darkness. She was at 5-under with six holes left to play.

Stefanie Croce was in third at 4-under with two holes left, and Mikino Kubo was fourth at 3-under with seven holes left.

Juli Inkster, Leta Lindley, Annika Sorenstam and Christa Johnson are tied for fifth at 2-under. Inkster, Lindley and Sorenstam finished their second rounds. Inkster shot a 3-under 68, Lindley fired a 2-under 69 and Sorenstam a 2-under 69.

Inkster finished with a birdie. She was a perfect 14 of 14 in fairways hit and hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation.

“I played extremely well,” Inkster said. “I drove the ball well. I think I hit every fairway. I missed one green, and that’s just because I hit the ball fat.

“I had a lot, a lot of opportunities, and I thought I rolled the ball OK. Just didn’t get them to go in. But I made a nice birdie on the last hole, which was nice.”

Inkster had 31 putts.

Lindley said one goal was making the cut. Now she plans to climb the ladder. She finished second in the 2023 event.

“I’m in position to have a good championship,” Lindley said. “I feel like I got the good end of the draw, so I feel really good about that from a rest standpoint, where the other wave is going to have to play more than 18 holes tomorrow. So I got lucky this time around.”

Sorenstam, the 2021 champion, finished strong with a birdie on No. 17.

“Overall I felt like I was a little bit more aggressive, which was my plan,” Sorenstam said. “Made a few mistakes out there, but other than that, I’m proud of how I fought and proud how I just kept going and just kind of moved on from bad shots and kept giving myself opportunities.

“I felt a little bit more relaxed and trusting myself on the tee, especially with the iron shots, having a good line into the flag and just trusting the line. That was very helpful.”