Delasin spews fire anew, trails by one

Dorothy Delasin put herself in a good position to finally score a first Top 10 finish in the current LPGA season after shooting a five-under-par 67 in the second round of the Franklin Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club course in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Fil-Am ace’s stirring 67, highlighted by five birdies in a bogey-free back nine, gave her a piece of third place, only a shot behind joint leaders Lorena Ochoa and Pat Hurst.

Getting into the groove after a roller-coaster front nine, Delasin, 23, canned in birdies on Nos. 10, 13, 14, 17 and 18 for the five-under-par round that came after a one-under 71 Thursday (Friday in Manila).

Delasin, who has yet to finish inside the Top 10 in six starts this season, is tied with Nancy Scranton and Wendy Ward at 138 as she tees off for the third round Saturday.

A Fil-Am born in Lubbock, Texas but now based in San Francisco, California, Delasin has amassed $74,363 in the current tour.

The Philippines’ Jennifer Rosales quit in the tourney after a freak accident before the first round.

Hurst grabbed a share of the 36-hole lead along with Ochoa after posting a 69 in the rain-delayed second round.

Play was suspended for the day with 26 players still on the course, and the second round was to be completed Saturday morning.

The LPGA Tour is back in Tennessee after a one-year hiatus, one that wasn’t thought of fondly by Hurst. While she is a native of California and lives in Arizona, Hurst loves Tennessee.

Hurst claimed the last of her three LPGA Tour victories at this course in 2000, establishing the tournament’s 72-hole record at 13-under 275. She also was second here — when it was the Electrolux USA Championship — in 2002.

"I think anytime you play a golf course well and see a lot of good shots, you relive those moments and it does give you a lot of confidence, obviously," she said. "I have seen a lot of good shots out here, so I just try to repeat that."

Hurst is looking for a repeat performance of 2000. She hasn’t won since, finishing second three times in the last two-plus seasons. Her last runner-up finish was a stroke loss to Helen Alfredsson in October.

"I’m playing good and feel pretty comfortable out there, so we’ll see how it goes," she said. "I’m looking forward to the weekend." — With AFP reports