Gerina Piller posted a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 and held a one-stroke lead over Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea when rain halted the second round of the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving, Texas, not far from her home in Fort Worth.
Piller, who leads the LPGA Tour in driving distance but is winless in her career, made three birdies on the front nine and then added three in the last five holes while playing in the morning wave before the rains came.
“I was playing well and my swing was feeling good, I was grooving it, so you just roll with it,” said Piller, who made a huge eight-foot par putt to help the United States win the 2015 Solheim Cup. “I have a lot of confidence right now.
“Nancy Lopez has been talking to me, telling me that I can do it, that I can be a great player, that I can hit the shots.”
Ji, who has won twice on the LPGA Tour including the 2009 Women’s U.S. Open, birdied four of the first nine holes, made her only bogey at No. 10 and added two birdies coming home in a 67.
Mi Jung Hur of South Korea, who held the first-round lead at 66, was a bogey-free 3-under for her round when the rain came and was two shots back in solo third.
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand made an eagle on the 10th hole, her first of the day, and added four birdies on the back before making bogeys on the first three holes of the front, but rallied with two late birdies for a 66 and was three strokes down in fourth, while Amy Yang of South Korea was another shot behind in fifth at 3-under through 11 holes.
Brooke Henderson, the 18-year-old from Canada, carded a 68 and was five shots back in a tie for sixth with amateur Cheyenne Knight, who was 4-under for the round after 14 holes, and Sei Young Kim of South Korea, who was 2-under through 11.
Candie Kung of Fountain Valley and USC shot a bogey-free 67 and was six behind in a tie for ninth with Catriona Matthew of Scotland, who had a 70, and four players who were still on the course.
Among those four, Nannette Hill was 3-under through 14 holes, Annie Park of USC was 3-under through 13, Danielle Kang of Westlake Village and Pepperdine was 2-under through 11, and Alison Walshe was 2-under through eight.
Round two will resume Saturday morning.
