LPGA: Dori Carter grabs lead with a 64 in round two of the Kia Classic

Dori Carter shot an eight-under 64 in the second round of the Kia Classic to rocket up the leaderboard into first place at 10-under total.  Carter leads an impressive duo at eight-under par, Stacy Lewis (66) and Christie Kerr (68).

Eight-under 64 is the new course record at Aviara Golf Club, and a personal best for Carter, “I’m going to enjoy it.  I’m having a blast out here, got a new caddie who is keeping me calm.  I’m going to wake up tomorrow, and play again, and see what happens.”

Carter added, “[A] lot of smooth, good swings today, and a lot of good numbers.” Those swings led to eleven birdies and three bogies for the 26-year-old from Valdosta, Georgia.

Cristie Kerr will be in the penultimate group tomorrow after firing a four-under 68, “It was a great round, but not perfect by any stretch.  There’s always room for improvement, so [I’m] going to do a little practice after the round, and get rested up for the weekend.”

Kerr eagled the par-4 first hole, her tenth hole of the day, “It was a great shot, couldn’t see it go in unfortunately, but it was a great seven-iron, perfect club.”

Stacy Lewis capitalized on the smooth greens this morning to move into a tie for second place, “It was a really solid day, I hit the ball really well like I did yesterday, and the greens were so much better this morning.  It was a couple shots difference I think playing in the morning versus the afternoon.”

Lizette Salas fired a four-under 68 in the afternoon to move into fourth place at seven-under total.  Salas is bogey-free through two rounds, “Threw in a couple fist pumps for par because I wanted to stay bogey-free.”

Salas has an opportunity to make the U.S. team for the International Crown with a high finish this week, “To [make] the team in its first year would mean a lot [to] me.”

The top four players in the Rolex World Rankings from eight different countries make the team, and Salas is currently the sixth best player from the U.S.  Angela Stanford is the fifth best, and the top four are Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson, and Cristie Kerr.

This is the final week for International Crown qualifying.

San Diego native Tiffany Joh and Mariajo Uribe of Colombia are tied for fifth place at six-under par.  Joh shot a three-under 69 for the second consecutive day, and Uribe posted a one-under 71 in the second round.

Chella Choi of South Korea shot a seven-under 65 (T7) to get to five-under total.  Choi’s round included seven birdies and no bogies.

Lexi Thompson (70), Shanshan Feng (71), and Paula Creamer (72) are tied with Choi at five-under through two rounds.

Jenny Suh shot a three-under 69 to move into fifteenth place at three-under total.  Suh did not find out she was in the tournament until early Thursday morning when Suzann Pettersen withdrew.

Other notables include Inbee Park and Se Ri Pak at four-under (T11), Yani Tseng at two-under (T21), and Karrie Webb and Michelle Wie at one-under (T26).

76 players made the cut at 146 (+2).

Weekend TV Schedule: 7-9 pm EST on the Golf Channel

Link to leaderboard.