Recari leads LPGA's Kia Classic after second round

Recari leads LPGA's Kia Classic after second round










Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange March 22, 2013 10:40 PMThe SportsXchange



CARLSBAD -- Spain's Beatriz Recari shot a five-under-par 67 to take the lead of the Kia Classic after two rounds at Aviara Golf Club on Friday.

Recari held a one-stroke advantage over Paula Creamerand Karrie Webb heading in Saturday's third round. Recari, who opened the tournament with a 69, said her play from Thursday carried over into the second round.

"I had great momentum from (Thursday)," said Recari, ranked No. 6 in the world. "I felt like I left some putts out there. It was kind of shaky to putt on the greens yesterday, so today I started with a good opportunity, birdie opportunity on 2 and 3 that just lipped out.

"I was just patient out there and managed to make birdie on 5 and 6 and that kind of got me a little bit more positive and just kind of keeping that momentum going."

Recari registered five birdies overall, three on the front nine, in her bogey-free round. Recari, whose lone Tour victory was the 2010 CVS Pharmacy Challenge, has come close to winning this season. She finished tied for fourth at the ISPS Honda Women's Australian Open and tied for third at the Honda Thailand in February.

At the last two Tour stops, the HSBC Women's Champions and the RR Donnelley Founders Cup, Recari tied for 24th and 35th respectively.

First-round leader Jane Park fell two shots off the lead, finishing the second round at even par with a 72 for a fourth-place tie with Cristie Kerr, Haeji Kang and Inbee Park.

Caroline Hedwall and Lizette Salas were tied at ninth, three shots back.

Stacy Lewis, the world's No. 1 player, who is seeking her third consecutive Tour victory, was among four players who were four shots behind the leader.

NOTES: After double-bogeying the 13th hole, South Korea's Jin Young Pak nailed a hole-in-one on 14 Friday. Pak, who finished the second round with a three-over 75, won a new Kia for the hole-in-one. ... Michelle Wie missed the cut again after recording a 74 for the second day in a row. She bogeyed four holes during the second round. She had two double-bogeys and a bogey in the opening round. Wie also missed the cut at last week's RR Donnelley Founders Cup in Phoenix. ... South Korea's Jiyai Shin, the No. 3 player in the world, who made all of her cuts last season, also was among the players failing to finish above the cut line.

Consistency key for leader Recari at Kia Classic

Consistency key for leader Recari at Kia Classic










Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange March 22, 2013 11:10 PMThe SportsXchange



CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Consistency is a constant with Beatriz Recari. It's one reason she sits atop of the leaderboard of the Kia Classic.

Recari fired a five-under par 67 for a one-stroke lead overPaula Creamer and Karrie Webb after the second round Friday at the Aviara Golf Club.

"Well definitely the consistency gave me a lot of confidence because that definitely showed me that I was on the right track and doing the right things," said Recari, who didn't miss a cut in 27 events last season. "Just in the winter, I just focused on maybe raising the bar in my short game. I felt that maybe my short game wasn't at the level that I wanted to have last year.

"I took a lot of positives from last year. I didn't win, which is something that I'm definitely looking forward to doing this year."

Recari, whose lone tour victory was the 2010 CVS Pharmacy Challenge, has come close to winning this season. She finished tied for fourth at the ISPS Honda Women's Australian Open and tied for third at the Honda Thailand in February.

At the last two tour stops, the HSBC Women's Champions and the RR Donnelley Founders Cup, Recari tied for 24th and 35th, respectively.

"I would love to win every event, but there's a lot of really good competitors and players out there and it's hard," Recari said. "But to always be in the mix is the important thing."

Recari, who opened the tournament with a 69, said her play from Thursday carried over into the second round. She registered five birdies, three on the front nine, in her bogey-free round Friday.

"I had great momentum from (Thursday)," said Recari, ranked No. 6 in the world. "I felt like I left some putts out there. It was kind of shaky to putt on the greens yesterday, so today I started with a good opportunity, birdie opportunity on two and three that just lipped out.

"I was just patient out there and managed to make birdie on five and six and that kind of got me a little bit more positive and just kind of keeping that momentum going."

Momentum also carried Paula Creamer into the mix in the second round. She followed up her opening-round score of 68 by shooting a 69 on Friday. She had six birdies and a pair of bogeys.

"Yesterday, I didn't hit as solid as I wanted," Creamer said. "I hit some balls afterward, kind of found a couple of things, and today made some birdies but had two bogeys still.

"I'm ready for the weekend. Hopefully, I can go out and keep doing what I'm doing and stay in my own world and see what happens on Sunday."

Karrie Webb also was pleased with her play.

"It sort of came together," she said. "Put some hard work in at the beginning of the week because I wasn't super happy with the way I've been hitting it and watching video and emailing the video and lessons over the phone. Just keep doing what I'm doing, hitting fairways and greens, I think, and then just being patient on the greens."

First-round leader Jane Park fell two shots off the lead, finishing the second round at even par with a 72 for a fourth-place tie with Cristie Kerr, Haeji Kang and Inbee Park.

Caroline Hedwall and Lizette Salas were three shots back, tied at ninth.

Stacy Lewis, the world's No. 1 player, who is seeking her third consecutive tour victory, was among four players four shots behind the leader.

NOTES: After double-bogeying the 13th hole, South Korea's Jin Young Pak nailed a hole-in-one on 14 Friday. Pak, who finished the second round with a three-over 75, won a new Kia Cadenza for her gem. ... Michelle Wie missed the cut again after recording a 74 for the second day in a row. She bogeyed four holes during the second round. She had two double-bogeys and a bogey in the opening round. Wie also missed the cut at last week's RR Donnelley Founders Cup in Phoenix. In 23 events last season, she missed the cut 13 times. ... South Korea's Jiyai Shin, the No. 3 player in the world, who made all of her cuts last season, also was among the players failing to finish above the cut line Friday.

Recari leads LPGA Kia Classic by two shots

Recari leads LPGA Kia Classic by two shots










Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange March 23, 2013 10:21 PMThe SportsXchange



CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Spain's Beatriz Recari remained atop of the leaderboard at the LPGA Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club on Saturday.

Recari, who had a one-shot lead heading into the round, shot a bogey-free three-under par 69 to take a two-stroke lead over Australian Karrie Webb heading into Sunday's finale.

An eagle at the 16th hole boosted Recari, who is seeking her first tournament title since winning the CVS Pharmacy Challenge in 2010 as a rookie. She hit a drive on the 285-yard hole that landed about four feet short of the cup before hitting a putt to briefly tie Webb, who led at the time.

"Well, we were waiting on the tee and I hit that tee shot in the practice round, actually in the pro-am, and you just had to kind of play it safe," Recari said. "And if you get a good bounce, you knew that it was going to bounce left.

"If you got a good bounce on the green, great, even though just to make sure that I'm on the right side and I have enough green to work with. But I hit a very good tee shot and I had a good bounce as well so I had like a (four-footer) for eagle and I made it."

Recari has completed three rounds at the tournament without a bogey.

"I had like two good saves today, but other than that I played really well, hitting the ball solid and just making sure that I position the ball in the right place," Recari said.

Webb led for much of the round before running into trouble on the back nine with bogeys on 13 and 17. She finished with a 70. Webb is seeking her first tournament win since capturing the RR Donnelly Founders Cup in 2011.

Paula Creamer and I.K. Kim of South Korea were tied for third, three shots back. Stacy Lewis, who had an eagle on No. 8, shot a 69 to finish tied at fifth four strokes off the lead with Lizette Salas and Cristie Kerr. Lewis, who is playing in her first tournament since becoming the No. 1 player, is shooting for a third consecutive title.

First-round leader Jane Park and Inbee Park both shot 72 and were tied for eighth, five strokes back.

Spain's Azahara Munoz had a strong start with four birdies on the front nine for a 32. However, Munoz bogeyed 12th and 18th holes to fall into a tie for 10th with Suzann Pettersen, Mo Martin and Na Yeon Choi. The four are six shots behind the leader.

Spaniard Recari maintains lead in LPGA Kia Classic

Spaniard Recari maintains lead in LPGA Kia Classic










Forrest Lee, The Sports Xchange March 23, 2013 11:40 PMThe SportsXchange



CARLSBAD, Calif.-- Beatriz Recari of Spain remained atop of the leaderboard at the LPGA's Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club on Saturday.

Recari, who had a one-shot lead heading into the third round, shot a bogey-free, 3-under-par 69 to take a two-stroke lead over Australian Karrie Webb heading into Sunday's finale.

An eagle on No. 16 boosted Recari, who is seeking her first tournament title since winning the CVS Pharmacy Challenge in 2010 as a rookie. She hit a drive on the 285-yard hole that landed about 4 feet short of the cup before hitting a putt to briefly tie Webb.

"Well, we were waiting on the tee and I hit that tee shot in the practice round, actually in the pro-am, and you just had to kind of play it safe," Recari said. "And if you get a good bounce, you knew that it was going to bounce left.

"If you got a good bounce on the green, great, even though just to make sure that I'm on the right side and I have enough green to work with. But I hit a very good tee shot and I had a good bounce as well, so I had like a (4-footer) for eagle and I made it."

Recari has completed three rounds at the tournament without a bogey.

"I had like two good saves today, but other than that I played really well, hitting the ball solid and just making sure that I position the ball in the right place," Recari said.

Webb led for much of the round before running into trouble on the back nine with bogeys on 13 and 17. She finished with a 70. Webb is seeking her first tournament win since capturing the RR Donnelly Founders Cup in 2011.

Paula Creamer and I.K. Kim of South Korea were tied for third, three shots back. Stacy Lewis, who had an eagle on No. 8, shot a 69 to finish tied at fifth, four strokes off the lead with Lizette Salas and Cristie Kerr. Lewis, who is playing in her first tournament since becoming the No. 1 player, is shooting for a third consecutive title.

First-round leader Jane Park and Inbee Park both shot 72 and were tied for eighth, five strokes back.

NOTES: Azahara Munoz of Spain had a strong start with four birdies on the front nine for a 32. However, Munoz bogeyed 12th and 18th holes to fall into a tie for 10th with Suzann Pettersen, Mo Martin and Na Yeon Choi. They are six shots behind the leader.