(Fred Vuich/USGA)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (July 23, 2013) – Not long after capping a second-round 69, which tied for the lowest score of the day, Bailey Tardy left Sycamore Hills Golf Club for some rest. U.S. Golf Association Championships can be grueling, and Tardy will need that time with her feet up.

When she left on Tuesday, Tardy, a University of Georgia commit from Norcross, Ga., was not convinced her 6-under 138 would hold for medalist honors.

“That’s not going to stay for long,” she said after her round, but no other player who came in amid windy afternoon conditions could catch her.

Tardy, 16, might show up Wednesday more determined because of that round, which quickly went from a potential 66 to a 69. She stood on the No. 8 tee, her 17th hole, 6 under for the day. A bogey there and a double at the ninth bumped her back to 3 under for the day.

Now the attention shifts to match play, a format in which Tardy does not have much experience. After making the stroke-play cut at this tournament a year ago, Tardy lost her first match to Marijosse Navarro. This year, she hopes to advance farther, her eye on winning her first and second matches. She will reassess at that point.

“After that it’s going to be, like, wow,” she said.

Fresh from the AJGA Wyndham Cup, played last week at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe near San Diego, match play is at the front of Tardy’s mind. She ended the week by halving her singles match against Kathleen Scavo.

Lilia Vu will be just below Tardy on the match-play bracket. Vu closed in 71 to reach 5-under 139, one stroke behind Tardy.

Vu, 15, had the bad luck to play in Monday-morning rain and Tuesday-afternoon wind, but made the most of it with her short game.

“I kept missing greens on the front nine and I would have to work for par,” Vu said of her second-round play. Vu, a member of the class of 2015 who has yet to decide on a college, said she’s getting better at reading greens, which has impacted her scores.

Like Tardy, the Wyndham Cup is fresh on Vu’s mind (she played for the winning West team), and won her singles match over Shawn Rennergarbe, 6 and 5. Part of that success came from a tip she got during Wyndham Cup: every hole is a new match.

With that strategy in mind, Vu could be dangerous again this week.

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