Liu holds 2-shot lead over Lemieux heading into final round of Four Winds Invitational Sunday
SOUTH BEND — Patience was the extra club in the bag for Epson Tour golfers Yan Liu and Gabby Lemieux Saturday during the weather-impacted second round of the $200,000 Four Winds Invitational at South Bend Country Club.
On a day which started under cloudy and chilly skies in the morning before wind and rain greeted the afternoon wave of players at the par-72, 6,241-yard course by Chain O’Lakes, the 24-year-old Liu of China and the 26-year-old Lemieux of Caldwell, Idaho, separated themselves from the pack.
Liu, who opened the 54-hole event with an 8-under 64 Friday, rallied from a double-bogey start at the par-3 10th hole to shoot a 1-under 71 Saturday morning that left her at 9-under 135, two strokes ahead of Lemieux, who made seven birdies, three in her final four holes, for the day’s best round, a 6-under 66.
A total of 66 golfers made the cut for Sunday’s final round which is expected to be impacted by rain and wind early. It took a total of 2-over 146 or better to survive. Play was to begin at 7:30 a.m. in twosomes off the first tee. Liu and Lemieux, each seeking their first victory on the Epson Tour and the $30,000 first prize that goes with it, will be the last golfers to start at 12:50 p.m. Admission is free.
Lemieux has been trying to come to grips with her golf game since early June when she played in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge in Southern Pines, N.C., and missed the cut after rounds of 82 and 81.
“It’s been a rocky season, though it started off pretty well actually,” Lemieux said. “I made it to the Women’s Open and ended up not playing my best golf. I struggled a lot mentally trying to find my golf game again.”
Lemieux has missed her last five cuts on the Epson Tour, blaming the slump on putting woes. But with husband Jared joining her this week, it appears she has found her game at South Bend Country Club. Saturday, the 5-foot-11 Lemieux, who averaged 267 yards driving the ball, hit nine of 14 fairways, 13 of 18 greens and needed just 23 putts on the slick greens to complete her 66.
“The first 11 holes were super windy and raining, so it wasn’t ideal,” Lemieux said. “I tried to still level-headed and not try to look too far ahead. The weather made it a little more challenging. But I’m striking the ball well and playing well. I’ve put my game all together and I like these greens. I finally starting to roll some putts in.”
Lemieux birdied Nos. 5 and 6 to go out in 2-under 35 and then started the back nine with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11. After a bogey on the uphill par-4 14th, Lemieux finished with birdies at Nos. 15, 17 and 18 for her 66.
Lemieux’s bid for an eagle on the par-5, 478-yard 18th closing hole just slid past the hole or she’d be a stroke closer to Liu, who managed to beat the weather in her morning 71 round that started with a double-bogey 5 and included bogeys at Nos. 3 and 5 on her back nine. The long-hitting Liu, who averaged 270 yards with her drives, offset those stumbles with five birdies for a two-day total of 14.
“I just tried to stay patient — that’s very important in golf on days like this,” Liu said. “Golf is a long game. We have five hours on the course. I just try to relax and stay patient.”
Selena Costabile of Canada was alone in third place after carding a 2-under 70 in the morning that left her at 6-under 138, one shot behind Lemieux and one shot ahead of Roberta Liti of Italy, who shot 71 in the morning. Costabile needed only 22 putts to complete her round that included three birdies, the same number as Liti.
There are five golfers at 4-under 140 including Kim Kaufman of Clark, S.D., the 2020 champion when the Four Winds Invitational was played at Blackthorn. Kaufman carded a 3-under 69. The shot of the day belonged to Kristin Coleman, a hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth hole using a 7-iron. Coleman shot 75 and made the cut on the nose at 146.
Four Winds Invitational second round results
FOUR WINDS INVITATIONAL SECOND ROUND RESULTS
Results after Saturday’s second round of the $200,000 Four Winds Invitational at the par-72 (37-35), 6,241-yard South Bend Country Club. The 54-hole tournament is the 15th event on the Epson Tour’s Road to the LPGA:
135 (-9): Yan Liu (Fujian, China) 64-71
137 (-7): Gabby Lemieux (Caldwell, Idaho) 71-66
138 (-6): Selena Costabile (Thornhill, Ont.) 68-70
139 (-5): Roberta Liti (Siena, Italy) 68-71
140 (-4): Dottie Ardina (Laguna, Philippines) 71-69; Kim Kaufman (Clark, S.D.) 71-69; Michelle Piyapattra (Eastvale, Calif.) 70-70; Pinyada Kuvanun (Khonkaen, Thailand) 69-71; Vivian Hou (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) 67-73
141 (-3): Gina Kim (Durham, N.C.) 73-68; Kiira Riihijarvi (Oulu, Finland) 72-69; Weiwei Zhang (Hainan, China) 72-69; Klara Spilkova (Prague, Czech Republic) 72-69; Celine Borge (Tonsberg, Norway) 71-70
142 (-2): Cassie Porter (Peregian Springs, Australia) 73-69; Maria Fernanda Escauriza (Asuncion, Paraguay) 72-70; Amelia Garvey (Christchurch, New Zealand) 72-70; Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) 72-70; Lindy Duncan (Plantation, Fla.) 71-71; Hira Naveed (Perth Australia) 70-72; Pauline Del Rosario (Manila, Philippines) 70-72; Gabriela Ruffels (Melbourne, Australia) 70-72; Polly Mack (Berlin, Germany) 70-72; Beatrice Wallin (Gothenburg, Sweden) 70-72; Ssu-Chia Cheng (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) 69-73; Linnea Strom (Hovas, Sweden) 67-75
143 (-1): Julie Aime (Nice, France) 74-69; Maddi Caldwell-Young (Canton, Ga.) 74-69; Anita Uwadia (Newcastle, England) 74-69; Moeka Nishihata (Osaka, Japan) 73-70; Milagros Chaves (Asuncion, Paraguay) 71-72; Yue Ren (Guangdong, China) 71-72; Regina Plasencia (Guadalajara, Mexico) 69-74; Kenzie Wright (McKinney, Texas) 69-74; Malene Krolboll Hansen (Taastrup, Denmark) 68-75
144 (E): Grace Kim (Sydney, Australia) 77-67; Greta Isabella Voelker (Witten, Fla.) 75-69; Min-G Kim (Cheongju, Republic of Korea) 74-70; Daniela Iacobelli (Melbourne, Fla.) 73-71; Michaela Finn (Brastad, Sweden) 72-72; Carley Cox (China Grove, N.C.) 71-73; Lakareber Abe (The Woodlands, Texas) 69-75
145 (+1): Natalie Srinivasan (Spartanburg, S.C.) 76-69; Louise Stahle (Lund, Sweden) 75-70; Karen Chung (Budd Lake, N.J.) 74-71; Karolina Vickova (Kladno, Czech Republic) 74-71; Haley Moore (Escondido, Calif.) 73-72; Sarah Jane Smith (Sunshine Coast, Australia) 73-72; Yu-Sang Hou (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) 72-73; Britney Yada (Hilo, Hawaii) 72-73; Laetitia Beck (Caesarea, Israel) 72-73; Jaravee Boonchant (Bangkok, Thailand) 72-73
146 (+2); Alexa Pano (Lake Worth, Fla.) 77-69; August Kim (Nashville, Tenn.) 75-71; Lauren Cox (Orange, Texas) 75-71; Kaitlin Milligan (Norman, Okla.) 74-72; Katherine Smith (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) 74-72; Amy Lee (Brea, Calif.) 73-73; Dani Holmqvist (Stockholm, Sweden) 73-73; Elin Arvidsson (Falkenberg, Sweden) 72-74; Clariss Guce (Artesia, Calif.) 72-74; Katelyn Sisk (Columbia, S.C.) 72-74; Soo Jin Lee (Carlingford, Australia) 71-75; Mind Muangkhumsakul (Banphai, Thailand) 71-75; Kristin Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) 71-75; Pavarisa Yoktuan (Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand) 70-76
DID NOT QUALIFY
147 (+3): Robyn Choi (Gold Coast, Australia) 71-76; Nishtha Madan (Delhi, India) 74-73; Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo.) 74-73; Laura Wearn (Charlotte, N.C.) 76-71; Samantha Wagner (Windermere, Fla.) 75-72; Sophie Hausmann (Nottuin, Germany) 77-70; Gabriella Then (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 74-73; Emilee Hoffman (Folsom, Calif.) 73-74; Alisa Rodriguez (Austin, Texas) 73-74; Pilar Echeverria (Guatemala City, Guatemala) 76-71; Vicky Hurst (Melbourne, Fla.) 75-72
148 (+4): Ingrid Gutierrez Nunez (Cuautla, Mexico) 72-76; Kendra Dalton (Poughquag, N.Y.) 75-73; Leslie Cloots (Antwerp, Belgium) 77-71; Anna Redding (Concord, N.C.) 73-75; Shasta Averyhardt (Flint, Mich.) 73-75; Elayna Bowser (Dearborn, Mich.) 74-74; Sofia Garcia (Asuncion, Paraguay) 75-73; Riley Rennel (Columbia, Tenn.) 76-72; Jiwon Jeon (Daegu, Republic of Korea) 73-75; Lindsey McCurdy (Liberty Hill, Texas) 71-77; Tess Hackworthy (Madison, Wis.) 73-75; Laura Restrepo (Panama City, Panama) 73-75; Sarah Elizabeth White (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 76-72
149 (+5): Karen Fredgaard (Frederiksvaerk, Denmark) 75-74; Lori Beth Adams (Burlington, N.C.) 75-74; Nannette Hill (Jupiter, Fla.) 73-76; Bailey Tardy (Norcross, Ga.) 74-75; Kum-Kang Park (Seoul, Republic of Korea) 73-76; Hyo Joon Jang (Seoul, Republic of Korea) 75-74; Siyun Liu (Shanghai, China) 72-77
150 (+6): Fernanda Lira (Mexico City, Mexico) 78-72; Maria Fernanda Torres (San Juan, Puerto Rico) 73-77; Mariah Stackhouse (Riverdale, Ga.) 73-77
151 (+7): Emily Mahar (Brisbane, Australia) 77-74; Louise Ridderstrom (Stocksund, Sweden) 77-74; Alejandra Llaneza (Mexico City, Mexico) 77-74; Ana Paula Valdes (Morella, Mexico) 72-79; Amanda Tan (Singapore) 75-76; Rebecca Lee-Bentham (Toronto, Ont.) 76-75; Emma Broze (Nervieux, France) 79-72; Mariel Galdiano (Pearl City, Hawaii) 78-73
152 (+8): Abby Herrmann (Pensacola, Fla.) 78-74; Maria Parra (Guadiaro, Spain) 75-77; Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) 77-75; Stephanie Na (Adelaide, Australia) 74-78; Jessica Porvasnik (Hinckley, Ohio) 77-75; Gigi Stoll (Beaverton, Ore.) 75-77; Auston Kim (St. Augustine, Fla.) 74-78
153 (+9): Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok, Thailand) 77-76; Megan Osland (Kelowna, B.C.) 75-78
154 (+10): Teresa Toscano (Huelva, Spain) 78-76; Brynn Walker (St. Davids, Pa.) 80-74; Miranda Wang (Tianjin, China) 78-76
155 (+11): Jessica Peng (Taoyuan, Chinese Taipei) 81-74
156 (+12): Julienne Soo (Melbourne, Australia) 82-74; Kennedy Swann (Mckenzie Bridge, Ore.) 80-76
157 (+13): Marta Sanz Barrio (Madrid, Spain) 80-77
160 (+16): Chanoknan Angurasaranee (Saraburi, Thailand) 75-85; Min Seo Kwak (Seoul, Republic of Korea) 78-82
163 (+19): Katharine Patrick (West University Place, Texas) 79-84
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Yan Liu leads Epson Tour's Four Winds Invitational with one day left
