WALTON-ON-THE-HILL, England (AP) -- There's a golfer hailing from America's south and with a passion for hunting who is running away with the British Open thanks to precise driving and a red-hot putter. <\/p>\n
Sound familiar? <\/p>\n
Ally Ewing is putting up a good impression of Brian Harman as she goes for a first major title this week at Walton Heath. <\/p>\n
The No. 39-ranked Ewing rolled in six birdies in her first 11 holes and shot 6-under 66 Friday to establish a five-stroke lead nearing the end of the second round of the Women's British Open, the final major of the year. <\/p>\n
Ewing is delivering a golfing clinic southwest of London three weeks after Harman did the same four hours north of England at Royal Liverpool in the men's event to win his first major championship. <\/p>\n
The similarities don't end there. <\/p>\n
\"I think a lot of people, I wouldn't say they were rooting against him but a lot of people were rooting for other people,\" Ewing said. \"I can kind of attest to that in some sense. But, yeah, certainly happy with where I am through 36 holes.\" <\/p>\n
And then there's the hunting -- the favored pursuit of Harman and something which proved to be a fascination for the British media, who labeled him \"Brian the Butcher.\" <\/p>\n
Yes, Ewing confirmed, she also likes to hunt. <\/p>\n
\"For the most part, my family, my husband and I, we do mostly deer hunting, so venison,\" she said. \"That's most of what we do.\" <\/p>\n
The field will look to hunt down Ewing over the weekend, but it will need her to slow up. <\/p>\n
At one stage Friday, she held a seven-shot lead and she felt like she was in a trance when making four straight birdies from No. 6. <\/p>\n
\"I didn't really even know until I signed my scorecard that I had four birdies in a row,\" Ewing said, \"so I would probably say that stretch from like No. 6 to No. 11 is kind of a little bit of a blur.\" <\/p>\n
There was another birdie at No. 16 before a bogey at the last, after her worst swing of the day on the 18th tee, gave her rivals some hope. Ewing was 10 under overall. <\/p>\n
The biggest names in women's golf can't keep up. <\/p>\n
Rose Zhang, the American sensation in her first year of pro golf, shot 71 and was nine off the lead. <\/p>\n
Celine Boutier, the Frenchwoman who arrived as the hottest player in the game after back-to-back titles including the Evian Championship, also shot 71 and was two shots further back at 1 over for the tournament. <\/p>\n
Former top-ranked player Lydia Ko, currently ranked No. 5, made five bogeys in her opening 10 holes and was looking like missing the cut. <\/p>\n
Minami Katsu (69) of South Korea and Andrea Lee (68) of the United States were tied for second place, a stroke ahead of Allison Lee (69), Hyo Joo Kim (70) and Lilia Vu (68) with many of the afternoon starters still out on the course. <\/p>\n
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Ally Ewing delivering good impression of Brian Harman with strong ... - Magnolia Banner News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" WALTON-ON-THE-HILL, England (AP) -- There's a golfer hailing from America's south and with a passion for hunting who is running away with the British Open thanks to precise driving and a red-hot putter. Continue reading