Suzann Pettersen sets clubhouse target at Women’s British Open

Norway’s Suzann Pettersen set a testing clubhouse target and looked set to lead overnight in the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Turnberry.

Out in the third group of the day at 6:52am, Pettersen carded a superb 69 to reach seven under par for 36 holes.

That temporarily put her alongside first-round leader Kim Hyo-Joo, but the South Korean was a late starter and plummeted down the leaderboard after following her opening 65 with a six-over-par 78.

With the wind strengthening throughout the day and rain also lashing the Ayrshire venue, Pettersen found herself two shots ahead of So Yeon Ryu, world number two Lydia Ko and Teresa Lu. Jin-Young Ko was out on the course on four under with three holes to play, offering the only remaining threat to Pettersen beginning the weekend with a useful lead over the field.

“Today was a very solid round of golf,” said 34-year-old Pettersen. “I felt I was in 100% control of the ball, the flight, the spin – everything you need to do in conditions like this. So this ranks pretty high as a good round of golf.

“The ball is not flying anywhere. It’s cold. Today is a day where you try to make it easier on yourself and I had a very pain-free round.”