Michigan Players have mixed results in the Grand Rapids Tournament
Brooke Henderson followed up one 64 with another during the second round, finishing her first-round 64 on Friday morning and going straight back out for another 64 that afternoon. The Canadian star carded 16 birdies with one lone bogey over her first two rounds, besting the 36-hole tournament scoring record she set in 2017 by two strokes. Henderson, who played 30 holes on Friday due to massive weather delays on Thursday, kept up the momentum she built on Thursday night and finished the day strong. 
“I started off really well late last night and I was able to carry it on early this morning,” said Henderson, whose last shot on Friday was a hole-in-one at No. 15. “Then I had lunch and came right back and played another 18. I just felt really confident today with my ball striking, which is awesome, and I rolled in a few putts, too.”
Henderson took a three-stroke lead into Saturday action over Brittany Altomare (-13), who shot her season-best 65 in the second round. Jennifer Kupcho (-10), the Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion, turned in back-to-back 67s and sits in a tie for third, six strokes behind Henderson. Five players are tied for fifth at 8-under — Megan Khang, who returned a bogey-free 66; Angela Stanford and Nasa Hataoka, who carded 68s, Aditi Ashok, who eagled No. 18 for a 65; and Moriya Jutanugarn, who had an eagle of her own at No. 8 in her round of 67.
MICHIGAN PLAYERS:
Veteran LPGA Tour pro Morgan Pressel leads a nice list of Michigan players in the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Pressel went into the weekend tied for 10th place, at 7-under par. Pressel has admittedly struggled the past several years but as of late in 2019 has earned some high placings, including a tie for 3rd at the LA Open and a tie for 11th at last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic.
MSU graduate Sarah Burnham shot 4-under through the first two rounds, while Lapeer native Kris Tamulis shot 3-under, and Ann Arbor-born Jennifer Song made the cut right on the number at 1-under.
Two others unfortunately didn’t advance to the weekend; MSU senior-to-be, Allyson Geer–Park of Brighton, who shot even par 71-73, and pro Gabrielle Shipley of Hastings finished at 6-over. Shipley won the Monday qualifier to get into the tournament, and Geer was a sponsor’s exemption for the third consecutive year. The last two years she missed the cut by just one stroke.
NEAR RECORD HOLES-IN-ONE:
The LPGA Tour record for holes in one in a single tournament is six. In just the first two rounds of the Meijer LPGA Classic, five holes-in-one have been recorded.
Four players drained aces at the 155-yard, 15th hole. It marks the most aces in a single round since 1992, the earliest year to which the LPGA traces hole-by-hole stats.
Mariajo Uribe was first on Thursday night with her 7-iron, followed by Henderson’s with a 6-iron just before play was suspended. Haru Nomura and Giulia Molinaro added aces of their own, both with 7-irons, when the first round resumed on Friday morning. Then Lindy Duncan dropped one in at No. 7 in the second round, coming from 149 yards with a 7-iron.
For every hole-in-one during the 2019 LPGA Tour season, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude’s Research Hospital. With the five aces so far at Blythefield, the season tally jumps to 16 aces and $320,000. The four first-round aces alone cover the cost of a one-week hospital stay for a St. Jude’s patient.
“As soon as I made it, I was kind of thinking about (the donation) and how the money was going to go help some kids,” Henderson said. “That’s just so important to me and I’m just really happy that I could help out in a small way.”
Good chance the Grand Rapids tournament will become part of LPGA history by the end of the weekend.
