Good luck charms and spectating prove successful for P. Anannarukan and A. Jutanugarn

Thai players Pajaree Anannarukarn and Ariya Jutanugarn pressed Evian Championship leader Jeongeun Lee6 on Friday, shooting 65 and 63, respectively. Both players are tied at 12 under par and three shots behind Lee6, who fired a major record-tying 61 in the morning.

Jutanugarn teed off five hours after Lee6 and watched Lee6’s round from start to finish. “The way she plays is so impressive,” said Jutanugarn. “She made, like, everything and it’s a major so the course is so tough.”

The former world No. 1 had an impressive birdie-run herself. Both she and Lee6 made four consecutive birdies on Nos. 6 through 9, and Jutanugarn finished her round with an eagle on the par-5 18th.

Despite Jutanugarn’s 12 LPGA Tour wins and her fifth-place finish in the 2019 Evian Championship, her goal was just to make it to the weekend. “I made the cut, so nothing can beat that,” she said. “Just going to enjoy the last two days.”

Anannarukarn, the 18-hole co-leader, told the press after her 6-under 65 on Thursday that “the course didn’t set up that easy,” and her goal for Friday was “to really try to play one shot at a time,” a phrase that many professional golfers use to stay present in their round and not get too ahead of themselves.

Full-field scores from The Amundi Evian Championship

She certainly stuck to her game plan, firing another 65 on Friday. “I didn’t change any strategy out there,” she said. “I mean, I stick to how I played the first round and that worked out today.”

Ever since Anannarukarn started playing in tournaments at age 12, she’s written “good luck” on her golf ball. “It said good luck and my name on the other side,” she said. Last week, Anannarukarn finished T-3 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and is looking for her first professional win.