Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
The Chevron Championship had casualties to some of the biggest names in the sport, with these five names sent home Friday.
The LPGA Tour is at the halfway mark during its first major, the Chevron Championship.
Nelly Korda is unbelievably in contention to win her fifth straight tournament, and young players crowd the top of the leaderboard.
The Top 73 and ties made the weekend while the other half of the field was sent packing. Some of the top-ranked women in golf were among those who missed the cut at The Club at Charlton Woods in The Woodlands, TX.
It was windy, with gusts upwards of 20 miles per hour, giving the ladies some trouble. That led to some of the best players on the LPGA to have a short week.
Meanwhile, defending champion Lilia Vu withdrew from the tournament ahead of her round on Thursday due to a back injury.
So, here are the five biggest names to miss the cut at the LPGA’s first major championship.
Rose Zhang
Rose Zhang went 74-75 through the first two days of play to finish at 5-over for the tournament. After finishing in the top 10 in three of the four majors she played in last year, it is a shock to see the young phenom head home early.
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Rose Zhang during first round of Chevron Championship
A double bogey on the 10th was detrimental, but the Chevron rookie couldn’t score. On Friday, she recorded 14 pars and just one birdie. Zhang missed the cut by three shots. Not getting birdie putts to drop on that second day cost her.
Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson struggled on Thursday, posting a 6-over 78 as she made bogey or worse on her first six holes of the tournament.
Thompson shot four strokes better on Friday with her 2-over 74, but like Zhang, she struggled to score. She finished at 8-over in the tournament, recording one double, nine bogeys and three birdies in two days.
Leona Maguire
Coming off a runner-up finish to Nelly Korda at Shadow Creek for the T-Mobile LPGA Match Play event, Leona Maguire missed the cut. On Thursday, Maguire shot even par to sit above the cut line.
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Leona Maguire on 15th tee at Chevron Championship
It was Friday’s round that saw her struggle though. Maguire carded a 4-over 76 with six bogeys and two birdies on the day. She hit just six fairways and six greens, putting her out of position on the greens all day.
Celine Boutier
The No. 3 player in the world, Celine Boutier, struggled at The Woodlands. Like the other ladies heading home early, Boutier could not score. She went 75-73 throughout the first two rounds. On Thursday, four bogeys and a birdie saw her finish with 3-over 75.
Friday was two shots better, but after making two birdies in her first four holes, a double-bogey at five and a bogey at nine took the wind out of her sails. Boutier made another bogey on 11 to miss the cut by two shots.
Jin Young Ko
Jin Young Ko is the No. 6 player in the world on the Rolex World Golf Rankings. She and Boutier are two of the highest-ranked players heading home. Young Ko missed the cut by just one shot after she went 76-71 Thursday and Friday.
She recorded a double-bogey on 12 during Round 1 with her four bogeys and two birdies to card a 4-over 76. Young Ko was far better during her second round. She hit 15-of-18 greens on Friday, but struggled with her putter.
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Jin Young Ko plays second shot on 2 at Chevron Championship
Some other names who missed the cut at The Chevron Championship were Megan Khang, Stacy Lewis, In Gee Chun, Alison Lee, Patty Tavatanakit, Gaby Lopez, Lizette Salas, Minjee Lee, and Danielle Kang.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
