CAMARILLO — Jodi Shadoff started Friday just as hot as she did the day before at LPGA Mediheal Championship. She finally hit a few snags, but not before she increased her lead with a 3-under par 69.
Ewart Shadoff opened at The Saticoy Club with a 64. She made four consecutive birdies in her final five holes. The 34-year old English woman added three birdies in her first four holes and seemed to be on her way.
She added enough bogeys to slow down her progress, but still managed to hold a four-shot advantage over Paula Reto going into Saturday.
Ewart Shadoff stated, Hit it really close at 4 so 3 under through 4 holes is a very fast start. The wind picked up a bit on the back nine, which can be a little tricky, but I played really well today and will hopefully do the same tomorrow.
Ewart Schadoff, who was at 11 under 133, is winless in 245 starts, which covers 11 years of her LPGA golf career.
She is not the only one who wants to win her first LPGA Tour championship.
Xiyu Lin (26-year-old Chinese national who goes under Janet) had another 69 and was in the large group five shots ahead.
Lin just finished as runner-up at The Ascendant LPGA Texas last week. This is the third consecutive year Lin has finished second. This one made her cry. She feels more optimistic after another week of Californias tough course.
Lin stated, Ive been very motivated. Lin stated, Last couple tournaments I mean, of course, I wish that I won, but I think I am in a really good place. I dont feel under any pressure. I just try to perform, do my best, be aggressive, and learn from my mistakes.
Right now I feel that all the good weeks gave my lots of confidence and that I can do it, she stated. It was a matter of time.
Reto won last month her first title in Canada. Lin is joined by Eun-Hee Ji at 6-under 138. She has six LPGA titles, including a U.S Womens Open in 2009.
Atthaya Thitikul is the 19-year old Thai girl who is close to No. The 19-year old Thai player Atthaya Thitikul is close to No. 1. She had a double par in her round and had the final round settle for a 72. She was six shots behind.
It all begins with Ewart Shadoff who played college golf at New Mexico, and was a member of three Solheim Cup teams for Europe. All thats missing from the equation is a victory and Shadoff did a good job to make it happen. She didnt want the trap of trying for a 64.
She said, Shooting such low numbers yesterday, you can’t expect to go out and shoot another 8, 9 under again. So I think that I played very similar today. A couple of putts here and there didnt fall. Overall, I hit the ball well and hit a lot of fairways. This is what I consider key.
Danielle Kang, a Pepperdine native, was excited to play in the afternoon with more fans. She had three bogeys in four holes, but it didnt turn out that way. Kang saved her round by making three straight birdies to score a 73, leaving her seven behind.