WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Another round complete at the Country Club of Winter Haven and another pair tied for the lead at the 10th annual Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, as Hyemin Kim (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and Daniela Iacobelli (Melbourne, Florida) sit at 5-under par overall.

Kim shot even par today by way of five birdies, including three straight from Nos. 11-13, and five bogeys. Also the 18-hole co-leader, she’s remained steady through the ups and downs.

“I didn’t really mess up. First nine, I think I hit it great, but I just missed little putts,” said Kim. “It was exciting. I can’t wait to play tomorrow.”

Featured in the final pairing tomorrow will also be Iacobelli. She carded four birdies and two bogeys to go 2-under par on the day and jump up the leaderboard.

Iacobelli pointed to one aspect of her game that led to her results, something that she worked on extensively during the off-season.

“Honestly, the biggest thing that saved me, I probably made 40 feet of putts to save par,” said Iacobelli. “It was just one of those days to where things could’ve got out of control both ways, but it just kind of stayed even. We’re still dusting some rust off, still dealing with seeing your name on the leaderboard and remembering how to swing a club at the same time.”

With temperatures slightly warmer than Friday, and the wind patterns shifting direction more frequently, only 16 players shot in the red today. Those numbers just might be a preview for tomorrow, when conditions are expected to be very similar.

In total, 60 individuals made the cut of 5-over par and six countries are represented in the top-10. Final round play begins at 8:30 a.m. with players going off No. 1 tee in twosomes.

DRINKS ON JANSEN

On a day that revolves around luck, Jaclyn Jansen (Effingham, Illinois) found the pot at the end of the rainbow filled with gold, and some of her own raw talent of course.

From 161 yards out on No. 6, Jansen fired a 6-iron and watched it find the bottom of the cup for the first hole-in-one on the Epson Tour this season. It is the fourth ace for Jansen and her second in competition.

“My caddy got the yardage. I was like, ‘Seven?’ He goes, ‘No, a little wind, six.’ I hit it well, just hoping to get on that green and get away with a par,” said Jansen. “Hits once, kicks a little right and falls right in. It was pretty cool.”

She started on the back nine, turning in an even par 36 thanks to one birdie and one bogey.

Then on the front is where things got interesting. Over her final five holes, Jansen went birdie, ace, double bogey, birdie, bogey, to cap a 1-under par round.

“Its been a while since I’ve been out here,” said Jansen, who was sidelined all last year with a stress reaction of the T7 to T10 vertebrae in her lower back. “We’ll see how tomorrow goes. Good to just come back and get some scores under par. Up and down today, but it’s fun.”

Heading into the final round, Jansen is tied for eighth with Julie Yang (Seoul, Republic of Korea) at 2-under par overall. However, she’ll tee at 12:40 p.m. off No. 1 tomorrow with Stephanie Meadow (Jordanstown, Northern Ireland).

SPONSOR EXEMPTION SHINING BRIGHT

Sitting one spot behind Hyemin Kim and Daniela Iacobelli on the leaderboard is Ina Kim-Schaad (New York, N.Y.), one of two amateurs in the 132-player Florida’s Natural Charity Classic field.

Granted an exemption by Florida’s Natural, it is the first-ever sponsor exemption for Kim-Schaad. It is also the first-ever professional golf tournament that the 2005 graduate of Northwestern University has competed in.

“Florida’s Natural has been absolutely gracious and amazing for extending me this invitation to come. I really can’t thank them enough,” said Kim-Schaad.

Tied for third with Brittany Marchand (Mississauga, Ontario), the former NU women’s golf team member fired the round of the day at the Country Club of Winter Haven. Four birdies and a bogey propelled Kim-Schaad to a second round score of 3-under par 69.

“I felt that I played very solidly. I was pretty happy with the consistency with which I played,” Kim-Schaad said. “I felt that my ball-striking was solid. I knew where my misses were and I knew where the ball was going. Same thing with my putts.”

With the final round tomorrow, Kim-Schaad said she won’t look at the leaderboard and that she’ll have someone simply tell her what time she is playing.

It’s all part of the plan.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure on me already as an amateur, people thinking just what the heck am I doing here,” said Kim-Schaad. “I don’t want to be result-oriented, I just am trying to be process-oriented. Trying to do the best I can regardless of the outcome.”

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Iacobelli, Kim Share Lead in Second Round of Florida's Natural Charity Classic

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