Celine Borge and Polly Mack Take Round 2 Lead, World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Olivia Cowan Two Back
By Elle Chavis
MIDLAND, Mich. – Celine Borge and Polly Mack vaulted up the leaderboard during Friday’s second round of the Dow Championship at Midland Country Club, amassing eight birdies and an eagle for a 10-under par 60 to take a one-shot lead at 12-under.
During Friday’s four-ball (better ball) format, the duo birdied five of their first eight holes, followed by an eagle-3 on the par-5 third hole (their 12th hole of the day). During Thursday’s opening round, they turned in a quadruple bogey 9 in alternate shot on the same hole. A six-shot improvement in one day.
The pair have teamed up together in the LPGA’s only official team event four times throughout the years. For every birdie they make, Borge and Mack put a sparkle on their hats. Anything better gets a star. Friday’s eagle definitely qualified for a star.
“The standouts are more likely the stars, and then the regular birdies are just a sparkle,” Mack said. “I guess we gathered a lot these last few days.”
Roommates while not on the road with the LPGA Tour, ‘The Real Housemates,’ as they affectionately call themselves this week, have failed to make the cut the past two years, which makes sitting atop the Round 2 leaderboard all the sweeter.
“We are really just in sync right now,” Mack said. “Even when one is like a little bit in trouble the other one is making the birdie putt. It's pretty cool.”
World No. 1 Nelly Korda and her partner Olivia Cowan have certainly taken their team name, “Legally Blonde,” to heart. The team was all smiles following their second round Friday afternoon following their own 10-under par 60, moving them into third place and just two strokes back of Borge and Mack.
“We were both just having fun out there and enjoying the format,” Cowan said.
With one of the earlier tee times, the duo immediately got to work flipping the script from Thursday’s opening round even-par 70 in alternate shot by recording 11 birdies en route to their 10-under on Friday.
“Last week was a great week,” Korda said. “But I think this was a perfect week to kind of back up that week where it’s a little bit more relaxed.”
Ayaka Furue and Yuni Nishimura, currently stand one shot off the lead at 11-under par. They cited their close friendship as the secret ingredient for their second round 9-under 61.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Furue said. “It’s so nice to play with one of your friends out there.”
“Tomorrow, I think we’re going to go with the same plan as the first day, so not really going to change anything,” Nishimura said. “Fourth day, we’re going to have to kind of step it up a notch, so we’ll think about it again and give it a try.”
Behind the top three teams, four teams are tied for third. With the cut line at 3-under par, round 3 reverts back to the alternate shot format with the best ball format returning on Championship Sunday. Tee times will start at 9:55 am ET, with admission gates opening at 7 a.m. ET.
