Bailey Tardy’s torrid start sparks 2-shot lead at U.S. Women’s Open

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Bailey Tardy picked a good time and a beautiful location to play her best golf.

Tardy made eagle on the par-5 sixth hole at Pebble Beach for the second straight day as part of a torrid start to her second round Friday in the U.S. Women’s Open, and she held steady the rest of the way for a 4-under 68 and a 2-shot lead.

Tardy hasn’t finished in the top 20 in her rookie year on the LPGA Tour. Now she has the 36-hole lead at the biggest event in women’s golf. And there was more to her good timing. Tardy was in the first group out, before the wind got strong enough to send scores soaring.

Tardy was at 7-under 137, one of only six players who remain under par going into the weekend, with even stronger wind in the forecast. Of those six, only Nasa Hataoka faced the flag-snapping wind of the afternoon. Hataoka shot 74.

Rose Zhang was over the cut line when she made two early bogeys in the morning. She rallied for a 71 to easily make the weekend. And when the second round ended, Zhang was in a tie for 10th at 1-over 145.

At least she’s still playing.

Jin Young Ko, the No. 1 player in women’s golf, missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and missed the cut. So did Lilia Vu, who won the first LPGA major of the year and didn’t break 79 in her two days at Pebble Beach.

Two others who missed the cut were Michelle Wie West and Annika Sorenstam, although that wasn’t a surprise. This was their final U.S. Women’s Open, and they paused to hug each other before reaching the 18th green.

Both shot 79, Sorenstam finishing with a tee shot onto the rocks left of the 18th fairway — leading to a brief dispute about where to take her drop — and a double bogey.

“It’s a little bittersweet to finish that way, but the memories are more than the shots,” said Sorenstam, who accepted an invitation given the historic nature of the U.S. Women’s Open being held at Pebble Beach for the first time. She retired after the 2008 season.

Wie West always wanted her daughter to see her play, and she cradled 3-year-old Makenna when it was over.

“It was really an emotional day, all the way to the end,” Wie West said. “It was such a strange feeling. And now that it’s over, it’s an even stranger feeling.”

Now they turn over the stage to an eclectic mix of players, most looking for their first major, some trying to simply win for the first time.

Tardy has made only four cuts this year, her best finish a tie for 23rd in Hawaii. Her only professional victory was two years ago on the LPGA’s developmental tour. She is No. 455 in the world ranking.

And she was not the least bit surprised when she walked off the 18th green leading Allisen Corpuz (70) and Hyo Joo Kim (71) by 2 shots.

“I’ve always believed in myself to win any tournament that I enter,” said Tardy, who played in college at Georgia. “I’m good enough to be here, and I’ve been on the LPGA, so I feel like I definitely have the game to hang with the best in the…