Women's British Open 2013: Analyzing Top Performers in Round 2

The 2013 Women's British Open is being held at the home of golf in the Old Course at St. Andrews, and there have been plenty of intriguing developments to complement the historic venue as the backdrop.

Inbee Park entered the championship seeking to capture the season Grand Slam after winning the first three majors, but she's hovering just one shot above the projected cut line at minus-two after a second-round 73.

Former teenage prodigy Morgan Pressel remained in contention after sharing the overnight lead with Camilla Lennarth, but the Swede blew up with an 82 on Friday and won't be around for the weekend in Scotland.

Pressel is at minus-eight overall, trialing current leader Na Yeon Choi by two strokes. She is also a shot behind Miki Saiki, who was the top performer of the day with a spectacular 66.

Several others near contention shot rounds in the 60s on Friday, but we'll focus on the three names currently at the top. Below is an extended analysis on Choi, Saiki and Pressel in the LPGA's final major of the year.

Note: Statistics and information are courtesy of the Open's official website, where the complete leaderboard and scores are also available.

Na Yeon Choi (-10)

The 2012 U.S. Women's Open champion is attempting to add another piece of hardware to her major trophy collection, and history indicates that she should remain near the top.

Choi has registered an impressive three Top 10s in her four most recent performances at the Women's British Open, and even in a relative down performance in 2012, she came in a tie for 13th.

The South Korean has been a model of consistency thus far, carding a second consecutive 67 on Friday to overtake the early, surging Saiki for the 36-hole advantage.

It was a hot start for Choi as she birdied four of her first eight holes, with her only dropped shot coming at the tricky par-four seventh.

Birdies at Nos. 12 and 15 more than made up for it, and she implied that her round was just about the best she could have shot afterward (h/t National Club Golfer Magazine):

That ability to grind it out is what netted Choi a U.S. Open trophy, but her third-round 65 in that tournament is really what separated her from the field. Choi can grind out pars and explode for par-breakers when necessary, which bodes well for her chances at winning.

Miki Saiki (-9)

The reason Saiki was boosted to the round of the day was due to a truly unique set of circumstances.

It's not often that even the best pros in the world hole out for eagle on par-fours from the middle of the fairway—much less twice in one round.

However, deuces were wild for Saiki on Friday when she eagled the fourth and seventh holes. Saiki hit beautiful approach shots—each from over 100 yards away—that both rolled into the cup at essentially perfect speed.

As mentioned in the video above, the last time the women's Open Championship was held at St. Andrews, Saiki came in seventh in 2007. It appears this course suits her game very well, which she commented on after the round, too.

If Saiki can continue to strike her approach shots with the type of precision she showed on Friday, she could easily break through for her first major victory.

Morgan Pressel (-8)

A humorous coincidence hints that Pressel has always been destined to be a golfer—and succeed at St. Andrews, per Golf Channel's Randall Mell:

Thankfully Pressel was able to get in the clubhouse with a respectable score of 70 and eight under through 36 holes in the morning. Winds reached up to 30 miles per hour in the afternoon in Fife, which caused many players to struggle.

In that context, Pressel could be thankful for how she played, though it wasn't quite as stellar as her opening-day performance.

The 25-year-old went bogey-free but only carded two birdies when the course was most gettable, perhaps because other things are on her mind.

This is Pressel's last chance to qualify for the Solheim Cup team for the fourth consecutive time. Alistair Tait of Golf Week documented what Pressel had to say about it, as a solid finish in this championship could still qualify her:

"

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me about the Solheim Cup. It’s a special week, the Solheim Cup, and that’s why everybody cares so much about it. That’s why I care so much about it

...Having played on three teams, it’s something I don’t want to miss, something that I’m definitely thinking about and, at the same time, trying not to think about and trying to worry about focusing on this week

"

Even though it wasn't her absolute best day, the precocious Pressel avoided critical mistakes that can shoot oneself out of a major early.

Pressel is still in excellent position entering the weekend, and given that she's won a major before, it wouldn't be surprising to see her stay in contention—especially with the women's version of the Ryder Cup on the line.