American Ally Ewing (Titleist Pro V1x) is halfway home toward winning her first LPGA major and putting herself in position to represent the United States in next month’s Solheim Cup against Europe.
Ewing blistered the Walton Heath course in Surrey, England on Friday shooting six-under par to take a commanding 10-under par lead in the AIG Women’s Open.
Ewing tied for ninth in last week’s Scottish Open.
Ewing shot five-under par on the front nine on Friday and one-under par on the back nine in which she had one bogey, which happened on the final hole.
The 30-year-old from Tupelo, Mississippi has consistently won an LPGA tournament each of the last three years. Her best finish in a major was a tie for sixth in the 2019 Chevron Championship.
Ewing entered the tournament with odds of 125-1 to win.
Ewing revealed a few years ago after her first LPGA win, which happened in the Drive On Championship, that she has Type 1 Diabetes. She said winning the event symbolized how she has been able to figuratively drive on despite her medical condition.
She played in the 2019 Solheim Cup replacing Stacy Lewis (Titleist Pro V1), who was injured. Coincidentally, Lewis is the captain of this year’s American Solheim Cup team. The two-time major winner and 13-time LPGA tournament winner played in this year’s AIG tournament but failed to make the cut.
This year’s Solheim Cup is September 22-24 in Spain. In addition to playing in the tournament, Lewis also has a chance to scout potential players for her team. Several American players are in contention heading into the weekend. Andrea Lee (Callaway Chrome Soft X) is tied for second third at five-under par, along with Japan’s Minami Katsu (Srixon) and England’s Charlie Hull (TaylorMade TP5).
The home country favorite Hull endeared herself to golfers around the globe with a circus shot on the final hole in the recent U.S. Open. Standing under the branches of a tree, she used a three-wood to draw around the impediment, hoping to reach the green in two shots on the par-five hole. She thought she needed an eagle to tie leader Allisen Corpuz (Titleist Pro V1x) when, in fact, she was four back. Hull missed the green, landed in the bunker with her third shot and ended up parring the hole.
Before making her second shot, she told her caddie, “I’m not playing for second place.”
She did, in fact, finish second in a tie, three behind Corpuz, but drew the admiration of everyone watching for her daring shot.
Hyo Joo Kim (Titleist Pro V1x), one of the betting favorites at 14-1, is tied for fifth at four-under par.
Atthaya Thitikul (Callaway Chrome Soft X) is among several players tied at three-under par after shooting five-under par. She opened the tournament with a quadruple bogey but has been solid since. The 2022 LPGA Rookie of the Year has two wins on the circuit and is looking for her first major. She finished fifth in this tournament in 2021. Her best finish in a major is a tie for fourth this year in the Chevron Championship.
Corpuz (Titleist Pro V1) is also tied for ninth.
Celine Boutier (Titleist Pro V1x), who has won her last two starts, is tied for 47
Defending champion Ashleigh Buhai (Srixon Z-Star) missed the cut finishing three-over par.
