Former Aledo two-time state-champion golfer Cheyenne Knight sank six birdie putts and finished today's second round with a 67 to put the LPGA rookie at six-under par and just seven strokes off the lead Saturday afternoon at the Walmart Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Arkansas.
Knight shot an opening-round 69 on Friday. The 54-hole tournament will conclude Sunday.
Perhaps the highlight of Knight's round came on the 15th hole, which was her sixth hole of the day as she began play on hole No. 10. Knight blasted a drive on the par-three hole about 75 feet past the cup. But Knight's birdie putt was true, and she said later that helped her momentum.
"I hit (the putt on 15) pretty hard, and if it didn't hit the flagstick it would have gone past the hole pretty far," Knight said. "But I hit it dead-on, and the new rule (where golfers can putt on the green with the flagstick in the cup) benefitted me on that one."
Another remarkable effort from Knight on the day came at hole No. 18, her ninth hole of the second round. Knight, not known as a long hitter, blasted a 310-yard drive to the center of the fairway, and her second shot on the par-5 hole landed six feet past the green.
However, Knight, using a wedge, undercut the ball, which moved forward three inches. But from 25 feet away, Knight used her putter to drain a right-to-left putt for a birdie.
"I used a 58-degree wedge and I was going to open up the club face and hit a little checker, but I completely scuffed it," Knight said. "But I did not let it rattle me, I just regrouped...I should have used my putter in the first place.
"It was a nice putt, and I had hit such a nice drive on that hole and it was nice to get rewarded."
Knight, who started her birdie parade at No. 14, would go on to birdie holes, 1, 5 and 9.
Her tee time on Sunday has yet to be posted. Check lpga.com for her start time. The tournament will also be televised live from 2-5 p.m. Sunday on The Golf Channel.
Check the July 5 issue of The Community News for an article on Knight's rookie year on the LPGA tour.
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