Thailand - 2nd Round Update

Suzann Pettersen holds a three-shot lead after two rounds at the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand.  Hee Young Park is in second place at -11 with Ai Miyazato third at -10.  Momoko Ueda, Maria Hjorth and Song-Hee Kim are tied for fourth at -9.

Pettersen followed her opening 66 with a 64 (one off her own tournament record) and has yet to bogey through the first 36 holes.  Park rides a 67-66 line into the weekend as she looks to improve on last-year's runner-up finish.  Miyazato posted matching 67s the first two days and like the leader has yet to bogey.

Several big names have already shot themselves out of the event.  Jiyai Shin is at +1, 15 shots behind.  Kristy McPherson is +3, Lindsey Wright +5 and Sophie Gustafson +8.  Vicky Hurst isn't getting her sophomore season off on the right foot - she's DFL at +9.  There is no cut this week so these players still have a chance to work out their issues.  The day's biggest news was Paula Creamer's withdrawal before the start of Round Two.  Creamer had posted 69 on Thursday.  From the LPGA's tournament notes page:

According to IMG, her management company, Creamer withdrew "due to a left hand injury, something which plagued her during much of last season. She is heading back to the US to seek further medical attention. Her status for upcoming events remains unknown at this time."

That is terrible news for Paula fans.  Let me be the first to second-guess - resting her injury over the winter wasn't the right decision, and she should have undergone surgery (assuming the problem can be corrected that way).  The early-season Tour schedule will never be as sparse as it is this year.  Assuming 6-8 months of recovery time from a December procedure (I'm thinking of Jeong Jang's 2009 experience), she would have missed only 10-12 events.  Now her entire 2010 season is in trouble.