LPGA ANA Inspiration 2015: Leaderboard Analysis and Highlights from Friday

Things got very interesting at the LPGA ANA Inspiration on Friday. The first major of the year remains a tight contest with a large contingent of players bunched together, though Sei Young Kim does hold sole possession of the lead at seven under par.  

In fact, Kim really came out of nowhere on Friday because she was sitting at even par after the first round. It's amazing what six birdies and one eagle can do for a golfer, especially with no one else hitting 65 on the day. 

Pos.	Player	Round 2 Score	To Par
1	Sei Young Kim	65	-7
2	Morgan Pressel	72	-5
T3	Brittany Lincicome	68	-4
T3	Jenny Shin	69	-4
T3	Catriona Matthew	69	-4
T6	Stacy Lewis	69	-3
T6	Angela Stanford	69	-3
T6	Lexi Thompson	69	-3
T6	Moriya Jutanugarn	70	-3
T6	Mirim Lee	70	-3
T6	Shanshan Feng	70	-3
T6	So Yeon Ryu	72	-3

The 22-year-old Kim has already won on the LPGA Tour this year, capturing the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in a playoff over Sun Young Yoo and Ariya Jutanugarn. That was the first sign she was going to do big things, especially since she needed to shoot a 68 in the final round to force the playoff. 

Kim's scorecard was tweeted out by the LPGA, which you can see was very consistent from start to finish:

The key to Kim's round was the birdie on 18, which Beth Ann Nichols of Golf Week noted pushed Kim's lead to two strokes over Morgan Pressel:

Moving to Pressel, who had the lead after 18 holes, she still remains in contention. She stayed at five under par thanks to a 72. It was an inconsistent effort from the American star, as she fired three birdies and three bogeys. 

After the round, speaking to Golf Channel's Randall Mell, Pressel said her swing was all over the place on Friday:

"

I’m not exactly sure what happened. ... It was a little sloppy all around. My swing wasn't quite as sharp as it was yesterday, and I kind of made some sloppy bogeys and some really good pars.

"

The good news is Pressel's swing didn't cost her any strokes from Thursday. She's got to get things turned around in a hurry, but sometimes an even round is a good thing. 

Pressel does have a built-in excuse, not that she's going to use it, as the LPGA tweeted out this examination from Golf Channel about her new swing mechanics:

The weekend will be interesting to see if Pressel's first round was an outlier or if she caught lightning in a bottle and is doomed to take steps back on the last 36 holes. 

Moving down the leaderboard, Lydia Ko's quest for history came to an end on her final hole of the day. She entered Friday with 29 consecutive rounds under par, which tied an LPGA record with Annika Sorenstam, per LPGA Tour:

Ko never really had a chance to keep the streak going, though she nearly reached par after pulling things together on the back nine. Instead, per LPGA Tour, her second shot on the 18th hole found the water:

Despite that frustrating finish, Ko remains an incredible story. She's tied for 29th at even par in a major tournament, which is more than I can say I was doing at the age of 17. 

In fact, per Golf Central, Ko was half Sorenstam's age at the time of their respective streaks:

It may not matter how old you are when putting together a streak like that, but if you're name is alongside Sorenstam's and you are only 17, something is going right. Imagine what Ko will be doing when she reaches her physical peak in a few years. 

Even though Ko may not be vying for a championship, there are plenty of developing storylines through 36 holes at the ANA Inspiration. Kim had the best round Friday, but the lead isn't big enough that she should feel comfortable. 

Add to that the 11 players sitting three or four shots off the lead, with a lot of 69s and 70s on the course Friday, there's going to be a lot of movement over the next two days before a champion is crowned.