After 36 holes of the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic, the lead narrows down to two players. University of Arizona alumnae Haley Moore and Gigi Stoll took control of their second round and the rest of the field, sharing the lead at 8-under. The duo holds a two-shot lead with 36 holes left to play on their former home course.
Moore lit up Sewailo Golf Club during the second round, signing for a bogey-free 63. The California native said her putter was the best part of the day and was on fire.
“I felt really good on the greens today,” said Moore. “I’m looking forward to keeping that up for the weekend. It felt great, I think this was my best round out here, even in college. We played a lot out here, so it was really cool to post it out here and bring back some good memories.”
Stoll also went low during the second round, firing off a 5-under, 67. The Oregon native carded seven birdies and two bogeys on the day.
“Coming into this week, I feel like I played some really good golf. I’ve been kind of up there on the leaderboard the past couple of weeks and to really capitalize on the round today felt really good,” said Stoll. “It’s definitely nice to come back and play a familiar golf course. Knowing everything about the course is an advantage, and to play well and hit the shots that I’m trying to hit is really making me feel good.”
Sierra Brooks and Natasha Andrea Oon sit two shots behind the leading duo at 6-under. Brooks carded four birdies and a lone bogey on the front nine and held steady on the notoriously hard back nine with all pars. Oon continues to find herself in contention, despite carding two bogeys on the day. The 2023 Epson Tour rookie finished the second round under par, thanks to four birdies.
A total of 66 players made the cut at 3-over, including 2022 Epson Tour champions Daniela Iacobelli, Maria Torres and Ssu-Chia Cheng.
QUICK QUOTES
Sierra Brooks (-6, T3) on having her mom on the bag:
“It helps having my mom on the bag to keep me present. It really means a lot to me, and there’s no one else I’d rather have out there with me than her. She’s my comfort, she’s very calm out there and it rubs off on me. I just love having her here to support me and be with me.”
Gabby Lemieux (-5, T5) on making the cut:
“I don’t think I’m going to change my mindset. At this point, my first cut of the year, I can’t be too over-excited about it because there are still two more days to golf. But I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
Jiwon Jeon (-4, T8) on a strong front-nine:
“I started off pretty good, having four birdies on 6, 7, 8 and 9. I really like the front nine so I was very confident throughout the round, especially on the front side. I was very happy that I made four birdies and was four under going into the next nine holes. I feel like the back nine plays harder than the front, so I just tried to be patient.”
)
)
)
)
