After 36 holes of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic, Daniela Iacobelli sits atop the leaderboard with a one-stroke lead. The Florida native was 5-under par on the day, carding four birdies and a lone eagle. The eagle on No. 5 was her second of the week.
“I’m not going to lie, it was saucy,” said Iacobelli. “It was 226 [yards] to the pin and busting into the wind. I hit 3-wood and then made a 25-foot putt. I kind of fist bumped myself, but no one saw so it’s fine.”
Iacobelli credits her putting for the low scores this week, saying it’s been great with the exception of a few holes. The Epson Tour veteran has gotten used to the wind this season and tries to find ways to use it as an advantage.
“Even my bad shots, I’m getting away with,” said Iacobelli. “So I’m riding the wave as long as possible. Hopefully the same thing happens tomorrow.”
Just one shot behind Iacobelli were 2022 champions Grace Kim and Xiaowen Yin. Kim played a 3-under round, carding four birdies on the day. The Australian also tried to stay friendly with the wind, which was a strong asset to her second round.
“Knowing it was windy from the get-go, I just tried to make sure I was in play,” said Kim. “I was working with the wind and dialing in on my shots. I think that went well for me.”
Yin, who could secure No. 1 on the Official Money List with a top finish tomorrow, carded four birdies for a 2-under round.
“Like I said earlier this week, I have no pressure heading into tomorrow,” said Yin. “I’ll try to find some feeling from the first round and hope to finish in the top five. That’s my goal.”
Just behind Kim and Yin was Laura Wearn. The North Carolina native sits in fourth place at 10-under, after signing for a 6-under second round. She carded eight birdies on the day.
“I played really solid and gave myself a lot of birdie chances,” said Wearn. “And I converted on a lot of the putts. I’m still a little salty about a couple three-putts, but everything was solid. It didn’t feel too hard today.”
In solo fifth was Anna Redding at 9-under. Redding carded five birdies on the day, three of which were consecutive to close out her round and secure the solo spot in fifth place.
A total of 61 players made the cut at 3-under, including Oregon native Gigi Stoll who heads into the final round at 6-under.
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