ERIN, Wis. — It’s challenging to stand out on a leaderboard when World No. 1 Nelly Korda is there, but Sarah Schmelzel is doing her best to become a household name. Not purposely, but because she’s playing some of the best golf of her career over the last year. Especially at majors.
Schmelzel shot a four-under 68 and was in a tie for second (with players still on the course) after two rounds at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills here.
She birdied five of her first seven holes—she started on the back nine—to put herself in contention. She’s three shots behind leader Mao Saigo, who won the Chevron Championship last month.
“It was really nice to get off to a good start,” she said. “I made a really good par on 10 and then after that I just was hitting it to 15, 10 feet, and fortunate enough to make all of them which doesn’t happen very often. I just tried to capitalize on the opportunities and was fortunate enough to do so.”
She finished tied for sixth at the Chevron Championship after shooting a final-round 74.
The 31-year-old from Arizona has played well the last couple of years, but she doesn’t have a win to show for it. Schmelzel, now in her seventh season, has 17 career top-10s, 51 top 25s and she’s earned $3.2 million.
But she’s still searching for her first win. Asked what the quest to win has been like, Schmelzel said: “It’s a very rewarding and humbling process, obviously. I haven’t won yet, but when I get into positions where I feel like I have a chance to win, that’s kind of a win in and of itself. I really just want to get myself into contention a lot.
“I mean, you want to give up 1,000 times because it feels like it’s never going to happen for you, and I feel like I’ve gotten to a place where I’m just really confident in my process. I’m really confident in the people around me that are helping me. That feels like enough of a win for my career on tour. If I add actual wins on top of that, that would be amazing and I really hope to do that. But getting to that place where I feel content in how I’m going about my career has been very, very rewarding.”
It takes time for any golfer to find contentment. And perhaps that free-and-easy place is why her game is in such a good place. She and caddie Taylor Takada have formed a good mixture of fun and focus. Being in the top five after 36 holes in a major isn’t stress-inducing. It’s normal.
“Speaking on behalf of myself, we’re comfortable in this setting,” Takada said. “We’re comfortable on a golf course where we know pars are, if anything, going to gain strokes against the field. That’s the kind of golf we love. Just excited. I don’t feel we’re in a crazy spot. Stay humble and true to ourselves.”
And that might explain her group getting put on the clock on Friday didn’t rattle her, either. Schmelzel was playing with Carlotta Ciganda and Steph Kyriacou who are both projected to miss the cut.
“We were on the clock for maybe like four holes or five holes,” Schmelzel said. “I think I’ve done a really good job in the past couple of years speeding up how I play, so for the most part that doesn’t really affect me other than knowing you have someone timing your shots, which is never really a fun thing in general.
“For me, I don’t think it necessarily affected anything. You’re just kind of aware of it so it’s a little bit of an added factor on to the round.”
Schmelzel is in a good place, both with her game and on the leaderboard.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
