Top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand was looking over a 15-foot put to take sole possession of the lead when lightning and rain halted play in the second round of the Coates Golf Championship at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club in Ocala, Fla.
Ko was tied for the lead at 7-under-par with first-round leader Ha Na Jang, who never teed off for the second round, which will continue Friday morning.
Right before the horn blew to call the players off the course, Ko was talking with playing partners Paula Creamer of Morgan Pressel.
“I said, ‘Hey, I’ve never been suspended where I have got one putt to go or I’m on the (18th) green,'” said Ko, who will shoot 4-under 68 if she makes the putt. “Then the girls were saying, ‘Ah, now that we said it, it’ll probably happen.’ And guess what? It did. No, but I mean, what can we do about it? Not like we can play in really dangerous conditions.
“I hit the ball really well today. I struggled a little bit with my driver yesterday, but today I hit all fairways so I was super happy with that. Obviously I left a few putts out there where I did have good looks for birdies, but what can do you do about it? I still got one more good look for birdie. I just got to stay patient out there.”
Haru Nomura of Japan shot 66 and was one stroke back in a tie for third with Kelly Tan of Malaysia, who was 2-under for the day after only three holes.
Lizette Salas of Azusa and USC was 2-under for her round after 16 holes and another shot behind in a tie for fifth with Xi Yu Lin of China, who was 5-under after 16.
Candie Kung of USC and Fountain Valley, Juli Inkster of Los Altos Hills and San Jose State and Michelle Wie of Stanford were tied at 4-under for the tournament in a massive tie for seventh with Brooke Henderson of Canada, Suzann Pettersen of Norway, Jessica Korda, Lexi Thompson, Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea, Kim Kaufman, In Gee Chun of South Korea, Sakura Yokomine of Japan, Chella Choi of South Korea, Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England and Sei Young Kim of South Korea.
All of them were still on the course.
