By Keely Levins
The defending champ
Jiyai Shin's one-under 71 left her five shots off the pace after the first round, but she won last year by nine shots thanks to a course-record 64 in the second round. As a two-time winner, Shin has proven that she's a force to be reckoned with on links courses.
American flags
While there hasn't been an American champion in the last 10 majors, Morgan Pressel is tied for the lead at six-under. And there are four Americans within a shot of her, with another three just two shots behind. There's a lot of golf left to play, but the Americans look like they're ready to make a charge.
Rain pants -- or lack thereof
The calm, sunny weather on Thursday was not up to the Old Course's cold, rainy, gusty standard -- and tomorrow may not be either. Weather predictions can always change, but the wind shouldn't get above 15 mph tomorrow and there won't be much rain. The good weather is a major reason why scores are so low, and if it continues, we could keep seeing shorts and low numbers at St. Andrews.
Inbee Park
A few hiccups down the stretch made posting a leaderboard-topping score impossible for Park. She made seven birdies today on her way to shooting 69, with five of those birdies coming on the front nine. She's seemingly unflappable when it comes to winning majors this year, and a few minor errors in the first round doesn't change the fact that she is just three shots off the lead. Take those two three-putts out of the equation, and she's looking at a one-shot deficit. Dangerous.
Who's carrying Korda's bag?
Korda infamously fired her caddy, Jason Gilroyed, mid-round at Sebonack and had her boyfriend/Web.com Tour player Johnny Delprete pick up the bag. This week, she picked up former Web.com Tour caddie, Patrick Horstmann, on the bag, while rumor has it that Gilroyed has been looping for Anna Nordqvist.
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