Walsh and Mehaffey slip back in Kenya Ladies Open
Lauren Walsh of Ireland during the first round. Credit. Tristan Jones/ LET
Lauren Walsh and Olivia Mehaffey struggled on day two but remained within touching distance of South Africa’s Cara Gorlei in the Magical Kenya Ladies Open at Vipingo Ridge.
Tied for the overnight lead, Walsh made four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in a two-over 75, but she’s still in the hunt, tied for seventh on two-under and just three shots behind Gorlei, who added a 72 to her opening 69 to lead on five-under-par.
Gorlei is one stroke clear of Q-School winner Nataliya Guseva with Mehaffey just six shots off the pace in a tie for 21st after signing for a 77 featuring three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey.
Olivia Mehaffey in action at Vipingo Ridge. Credit. Tristan Jones/ LET
Walsh and Mehaffey are gunning for their first wins on tour but are also looking to win one of two places in next week’s $5 million Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF, which will be awarded to the leading two non-exempt players who finish in the top 10.
“Today was definitely tougher than yesterday I found, but I somehow managed to put in a good score after some good runs and bad runs during the 18 holes,” Gorlei said.
“I started birdie-birdie-par-birdie and got off to a hot start, then I had a nice little four-putt so that set me back a little bit. I came in pretty slow, and then, to start the back nine, I had another three birdies in a row, so that was great. But then again, I came in really slow. My putting was very hot and cold.
“It took me a while to get over the four-putt, that’s why I slowed down, but once I started the new nine, I thought, let’s get something going here. You have just got to put it in play on this course and I didn’t do it as well as yesterday, but I’m still happy with the under-par round.”
Four players share third place with Japan’s Ayako Uehara, Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Italy’s Alessandra Fanali all on three-under-par.
