Friday's 72, she said, felt better than Thursday's 65.
ORMOND BEACH — One thing didn’t change for Emilia Migliaccio on Day 2 of the Sally Championship at Oceanside Country Club.
Yet again, she tied for the day’s low round.
The similarities end there, however, because Friday’s even-par 72, which no one bettered, was much more of a grind than her Thursday 65, which came in calm conditions. Gusting winds, from which Oceanside offers little defense, provided the type of test normally expected here in January.
“Honestly, this felt like a 65,” Migliacciosaid of her 72. “I had some really good up-and-downs, and I was putting really well. I just did a really good job of managing the wind. Although the scores were very different, I was very happy with the round.”
Migliaccio, a Wake Forest freshman, enters Saturday’s final round with the same seven-shot lead she shared with first-round co-leader Diane Baillieux, a Baylor University freshman. A day after matching Migliaccio’s 65, Bailleux was bounced around in Friday’s conditions. Following an opening day of eight birdies and one bogey, she had five bogeys, two doubles and two birdies.
Baillieux shares second place with University of Virginia junior Anna Redding, who has a pair of 72s to open the Sally, which has been shortened to 54 holes due to the washout of Wednesday’s opening round.
Florida State golfer Amanda Doherty (72-73) and Texas Longhorn Kaitlyn Papp (70-75) are tied for fourth at 1 over par.
Migliaccio’s Friday 72 included three birdies, all practically within kick-in range. She hit 8-iron to 4 feet on No. 10 (her first hole Friday), pitching wedge to 3 feet on 11, and 60-degree wedge to 4 feet on 2. She bogeyed the par-4 eighth after missing the green. She doubled the par-3 16th after missing the green and 3-putting.
Migliaccio will enter Saturday’s final 18 holes with the comfort provided by a seven-shot cushion.
“I’ve played tournaments where I’ve been leading by five or six before,” she said. “I’ve been in the position before and I’ve capitalized on them, so I’m just gonna think about those tournaments and see what happens.”
The seven shots are comforting, but the weatherman is offering no such warmth. The forecast says a high of mid-50s with winds around 10 mph, but with the seaside exposure and the amount of time spent on a golf course for 18 holes of tournament play, the chill and bluster will be magnified. "True Sally weather, finally," the longtime onlookers will say.
Migliaccio, a native of Cary, N.C., looked ahead with a smile.
“Oh, I’m OK,” she said. “In North Carolina, you don’t have a long winter, but you do have a winter and you need to practice in it. I’m good in the cold. I’m pretty tough.”