PRATTVILLE, Ala. -- South Africa's Paula Reto birdied her final hole Friday for a 6-under 66 and a three-stroke lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.
Reto had five birdies in a six-hole stretch on her opening nine -- the back nine on Capitol Hill's Senator layout. The 24-year-old former Purdue player finished with eight birdies and two bogeys to reach 13-under 131.
"I was just really patient with myself," said Reto, playing her first season on the LPGA Tour after a year on the Symetra Tour. "I hit a couple good irons, especially early in the round. I hit a couple close, 5 feet, so that was nice, got the momentum going pretty early. It was nice to birdie the last hole yesterday as well as today, that was really nice. Just trying to stay patient and not think too much, just simple things."
South Korea's Mi Jung Hur, tied for the first-round lead with top-ranked Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) at 64, was second after a 70. Hur had four birdies and two bogeys.
Lewis, the 2012 winner in the event that was dropped from the schedule last year after losing its title sponsor, was third at 9 under after a 71. She had five birdies and four bogeys.
"Just got in trouble a couple times off the tee and made some bogeys that I shouldn't have," Lewis said. "Really just got in some bad places where I couldn't make par.
"The hole locations are a lot tougher today. Especially, you look at yesterday, some holes we had front pins and today they're back pins. That's an extra 30 yards on these greens."
Sydnee Michaels, Alison Walshe and Moriya Jutanugarn were 7 under. Michaels shot 65, Walshe 68 and Jutanugarn 69.
Former University of Alabama star Stephanie Meadow was 2 under after a 74.
Lexi Thompson, the 2011 winner at age 16, missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 78.
WEB.COM TOUR
Blair at 13 under
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Zac Blair topped the Web.com Tour Championship leaderboard at 13 under Friday when second-round play was suspended because of darkness.
Blair was 5 under with three holes left in the round that was delayed because of rain. The 24-year-old former BYU player shot a 63 Thursday to match the record on TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley Course.
After missing the cuts in the first three events in the Web.com Tour Finals, Blair needs to earn about $40,000 in the season finale to earn a PGA Tour card.
The four-event series is limited to the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings.
Derek Fathauer was second at 9 under after a 66.
Tommy Gainey broke the course record with a 62 to move into a tie for ninth at 5 under.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) had six birdies and three bogeys for a 3-under 67 (135), good for a tie for ninth place. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) had six birdies, one bogey and one double bogey for a 3-under 67 (138).
Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) had three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par round of 70 (139). Scott Gardiner (Farmington) had five birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys for a 3-over 73 (143).
EUROPEAN PGA
Lowry leads by 1
NEWPORT, Wales -- Shane Lowry shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Wales Open on Friday, while Stephen Gallacher missed the cut in his last tournament before his first Ryder Cup.
Lowry didn't drop a shot as he moved to 9-under 133, one shot ahead of Joost Luiten (69) and Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts, who eagled the 18th hole for the second day in a row in shooting a 68.
Gallacher failed to recover from his opening round of 78 at Celtic Manor, with his 70 leaving him five shots below the cut line.
Fellow Ryder Cup player Lee Westwood nearly missed the cut but birdied two of his closing four holes for a 69 to sit nine shots behind Lowry. Westwood will be making his ninth straight Ryder Cup appearance for Europe, but this is his first tournament since missing the cut at The Barclays last month.
Jamie Donaldson, another Ryder Cup rookie, remains well-placed to become the first Welshman to win the Wales Open after a bogey-free 67 put him four shots back. Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, who is playing in his first Ryder Cup since 2002, added a 69 to move to 2 under.
Jose Maria Olazabal, Europe's winning captain in 2012, missed the cut after scores of 82 and 76 before also heading north to Scotland as a vice-captain at Gleneagles.
Sports on 09/20/2014