The midway point of the Women’s Open arrived on Friday evening. The cut fell at +8, with the leader at four-under par. World number one Nelly Korda fought valiantly to recover from her opening 80 and, at one point, was within a shot of the cut. She was unable to close under par, and missed the weekend by two shots. Among the world’s best, only Minjee Lee finds herself truly in contention. Lee is currently ranked 9th in the Rolex rankings; only Nasa Hataoka holds both a spot in the world top twenty and the the Open top twenty.

Some years, the course preparation at the US Open recognizes players already among the world’s best, while in others, it elevates players to that stature. 2024 at Lancaster Country Club promises to be one of the later. Players like Korda, Rose Zhang, and Lydia Ko missed the cut outright, while others like Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, and Hannah Green, find themselves nine shots or more behind the leaders.

Over the weekend, viewers and attendees will familiarize themselves with Wichanee Meechai, Andrea Lee, Wei-Ling Hsu, and the splendid moniker of Asterisk Talley, an amateur. Rather than a coronation (unless Minjee wins a second Open) 2024 looks to be an unveiling of a new talent, and that’s one of the neat parts of major championship golf. Unlike team sports, where known commodities lead other known commodities to victory, medal-play golf welcomes the unexpected and the unknown on occasion. We’ve collected five, unexpected things to share with you on this Friday evening. Thanks for enjoying five things we learned on Friday at the US Women’s Open.

For the first time ever, the #USWomensOpen is brought to life thanks to ShotCast powered by @Cisco!

Available now on the USGA App and https://t.co/rGFuYBCHcq. pic.twitter.com/DXw7TvSkwv

— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

1. We will have a low amateur!

Since golf writers are much closer to golf’s amateur skill level than the professional one, there is a special place in our hearts for the amateurs who compete against the professionals. They might be professionals next year, or month, or week, but for now, they are the unpaid, the ones who take classes during the day.

After finding three birdies on her way to an opening 69, France’s Adela Cernousek struggled to find a single one on Friday. She never did, and as the round waned, her score edged close to 80. Had she gone that high, she would have reached plus-nine, and would have missed the halfway cut. Despite bogeys at 16 and 17, Cernousek was able to coax par out of the closing hole, and earn a weekend tee time.

Much closer to the top are Catherine Park, Megan Schofill, and Asterisk Talley. Park sits at two-over par, while Schofill and Talley both occupy rungs at one-over par. Not since 1998 has an amateur made a serious run at the title, and no one expects it from this trio. It would be nice, but at the very least, we’ll have a battle for the low amateur medal, which will also be nice.

Fresh off her first USGA ? just 2 weeks ago, 15-year-old Asterisk Talley now holds a share of the lead at Lancaster!#USWomensOpen | @Ally pic.twitter.com/xwZsOQCD6a

— U.S. Women’s Open (@uswomensopen) May 30, 2024

2. Farewell to thee…

We won’t have the pleasure of seeing a number of the top golfers over the weekend. Defending champion Allison Corpuz, Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Leona Maguire, and Rose Zhang all finished on the high side of the cut number.

It’s rare that so many, elite golfers stumble at the same moment in time, in so many different ways. Some had blowups on individual holes, while others lost multiple strokes in three-hole stretches. Let’s remember, though, that prior to 2015 at Lancaster, In-Gee Chun had not won a major. After her Open triumph, Chun won at Evian and the PGA.

Trust the process. Lancaster will identify a proper champion.

Inching her way back up!@NellyKorda has back-to-back birdies ? pic.twitter.com/eQlFVgHU3u

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 31, 2024

3. What about Minjee?

Does anyone play the game as well as Nelly Korda? Minjee does. When she is on, the Australian star and 2022 US Open champion hits fairways and greens like no other. As often happens, it comes down to the flatstick.

On Friday, Lee jumped up to a tie for the lead, before bogeys at 17 and 18 brought her back to even par. What she did on the front nine (her inward half) was telling: she made eight pars and one birdie, and moved back into red figures. Lee and 2022 champion Yuka Saso will form the penultimate pairing on day three, and one of them figures to have the lead after 54 holes.

Minjee Lee has taken the solo lead thanks to back-to-back birdies!#USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/EJsE5GGXCt

— Playing Through (@_PlayingThrough) May 31, 2024

4. Who is Whichanee Meechai?

To begin, she’s precisely the sort of golfer referenced above. Meechai has competed on every LPGA tour on the planet, but only has a fifth-place finish to show on the US LPGA tour. Meechai last won in 2020, on the Thailand LPGA circuit. In other words, she really shouldn’t be here, but here is exactly where she is.

Eleven birdies adorn Meechai’s two scorecards. Although there are seven bogeys along for the ride, there are no doubles or higher in any square. It’s a simple prescription, but one that gets harder to fill as the weekend advances. Meechai finds herself in a rarefied realm, but if she considers that she has nothing to lose by playing fierce, she just might hang around. I hope that she does.

Solid opening birdie for @jan_wichanee?

She followed it up with a birdie on her 2nd and she’s back in the lead at -3!pic.twitter.com/hy9XzBIBek

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 31, 2024

5. Let’s follow Andrea

Andrea Lee is precisely the sort of break-out talent waiting in the wings of the LPGA theater. She was a top amateur and collegiate player, and has a 2022 tour victory on her wiki. Over the half-decade that she has been a professional, she has dipped her toes in the major-championship waters, but has not gained traction.

2024 feels a bit different. Friday brought 69, and birdie at 11 (the day’s second hole) moved her up the board. The devilish 12th hole stole back two strokes, and another bogey at 15 pushed her out of red numbers. As she turned to the front side, Lee faced her demons and demolished them. A holed approach for eagle at one was followed by three consecutive birdies, and Lee found herself at minus-four and in the lead. Although two bogeys came her way on the trip home, Lee signed for another 69 and a seat in the first row of Saturday’s third round. She’ll start two back of Meechai but, given her penchant for making up shots, that may not last for long.

Tack another birdie on @andrea_lee54’s scorecard ?

She’s got a share of lead at -3 now pic.twitter.com/Yh8PWBV24k

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 31, 2024