Ochoa falls from lead; Rosales cut

Mexico – Taiwan’s Yani Tseng shot a 3-under 69 for a share of the second-round lead with South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi in the Mastercard Classic, leaving top-ranked Mexican star Lorena Ochoa a stroke back on Saturday.

Choi had a 70 to match the second-ranked Tseng at 7-under 137 on the BosqueReal Country Club course. Ochoa, the first-round leader after a 65, shot a 73 to drop into a tie for third with Pat Hurst (70) with one round left.

Jennifer Rosales, in the mix with a 73 in the first round, double bogeyed No. 17 for a six-over par 78 for a 151 and missed the cut by one while Fil-Am Dorothy Delasin hardly recovered from an awful 92 and finished with an 80 for a 172.

Ochoa lost momentum with a double bogey on the 435-yard, par-4 eighth hole, and also bogeyed the 11th, a challenging, 197-yard par 3. She recovered with birdies on 12 and 14, but couldn’t catch the leaders.

The steep and scrubby BosqueReal course has always been tough for Ochoa. She has yet to win this tournament in four attempts. Last year, she opened with a 4-over 76 – her worst score in nearly a year – and ended up tying for eighth.

Choi said she didn’t feel pressured challenging Ochoa on her home turf.

“I just want to play and enjoy and just keep doing it,” Choi said.

Tseng had seven birdies, a bogey and a double bogey.

“I had a bet with Lorena for bogey-free, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I made a bogey on the first hole,”’ Tseng said. “I had seven birdies today, and I had one four-putt, and that’s really bad.”

Ochoa said gusty wind made play difficult, but was confident she would come back on Sunday.

“The important thing is that I’m still in there,” she said.                            

The tournament is Ochoa’s third of the season. She won the Honda LPGA Thailand for her 25th tour title, then tied for sixth in Singapore. (AP)