(Reuters) – Golfers have risen to the varied challenges that the new home of the Chevron Championship in Carlton Woods Texas brought after moving from its longtime home at Mission Country Club in Palm Springs.
Playing in Woodlands near Houston has meant adapting to an unfamiliar course as well to the changing weather, something that was not a concern in the California desert, but golfers capitalized on the conditions after the start of the second round of play was delayed for two hours due to rain on Friday
“It’s a pretty demanding golf course. Wind can change, speed of the greens can change. I don’t think it’s going to be super easy this weekend, even though we’ve played it twice,” said world number 12 Lilia Vu after carding a three-under 69 to take the clubhouse lead in the second round.
“I’m just really happy to finish today. The weather was pretty nice to us, just a little bit of wind.”
World number two Nelly Korda overcame a rollercoaster round on what she claimed was a completely different course than the opening round on Thursday.
“It was very wet out there, a lot of mud balls, and the greens were really soft compared to yesterday. Two rounds and two completely different golf courses, so it was fun,” said the American who mixed five birdies with three bogeys for a two-under 70 finish.
Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit, 2021 Chevron winner, also took advantage of the course conditions posting the best early round of the day by returning a five under-67.
“I knew it was going to be wet, but on the greens, if anything, it would be a little softer, so I could go after it a little bit more,” the world number 59 said.
“I think it’s a good thing that we’re here this week. It feels like it’s a new major, it’s a new course, so I treat it a little differently. Everything is fresh. It feels like we’re not playing The Chevron Championship just because the grass and everything is so East Coast.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
