Yani Tseng on song to defend women’s Australian Open title
Defending women’s Australian Open Champion, Yani Tseng is currently leading the second round of the women’s Australian Open. The second round of the event, which is currently underway at the Commonwealth Golf Club, had to be called
off as thunderstorms intervened the proceedings on 4 February.
The 22-year-old Tseng posted a final-round 66 last year to clinch the title. Nothing seems to have changed since then as the champion endured a bogey-free second round, with six birdies at the end of play on Friday. The 2010 LPGA
Rolex Player of the Year finished with a second-round 67 to vault to a nine-under 137 at the end of two rounds. The tournament carries a purse of $600,000.
Currently, ranked fifth in the world, Tseng is in serious contention for the title with the world number one player, Jiyai Shin. Joint leaders of the opening round, Jennifer Song from United States of America and Shin, both failed
to stop the Taiwanese from running away with the lead in the following round. The top-ranked Korean thumped home birdies on the first two holes, but as wind blew across the course she made her first bogey of the tournament on the seventh hole. As things stand,
Jiyai Shin is two shots back at seven-under par after fifteen holes. 58 players will complete their second-round play on Saturday morning.
As for Tseng, she just has to perform consistently. 'Yesterday I was thinking too much on my putting,'' Tseng said. ''Today I just let it go. I saw the line and told myself not to move my head.''
The Asians have dominated the leaderboard in Australia thus far as the native ladies have not fared well. The closest Australian to the top of the leaderboard was Nikki Campbell, with a five-under par after seven holes. Campbell’s
compatriot, Katherine Hull from Queensland was at two-under 71 and is seven shots adrift of the lead.
The Top 2 contenders for the title share a lot of commonalities; Tseng and Shin hail from the same continent, Asia. Moreover, both the players are aged 22.
The fifth-ranked Yani praised Shin and said, "She (Shin) is always on top and very consistent. I never expect she is going to miss any shot. That's how she is. She is a very good player and good for golf too."
Even though Tseng has not failed to mesmerise her fans, her current berth in the world rankings befuddles people. Having featured in the Top 5 after winning two major titles in 2010, Tseng is certainly eyeing the number one spot
this year. All she needs is luck to follow her through in the rounds to come.
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