In just her second LPGA Tour outing of the 2024 season, Dewi Weber has emerged as the star attraction at the Portland Classic.
With rounds of 66 and an eye-popping 62, the Dutch golfer has propelled herself into the lead, setting the stage for what could be a breakthrough victory.
Starting the day tied for eighth, Weber crafted a masterful, bogey-free 62 at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club, a feat that has given her the first 36-hole lead of her LPGA Tour career.
Teeing off in the afternoon wave, Weber adeptly managed to beat the heat and expertly handled the greens that were drying up.
Her round kicked off with pars on the first two holes before she notched her first birdie on the par-4 3rd.
Then, the Dutch dynamo went on a scorching seven-hole birdie streak starting from the par-5 5th to the par-4 11th.
This isn’t the first time Weber’s caught fire—she strung together seven birdies in a row on Thursday as well.
By the 11th hole on Friday, Weber had caught up with the early leader and 2022 Portland Classic champion, Andrea Lee, both sitting pretty at -14.
A birdie on the 13th hole put Weber ahead, and she maintained her cool with a series of pars before closing with a birdie on the short par-4 18th.
That final birdie cemented her two-stroke lead and marked her lowest round on the LPGA Tour, an impressive -10.
Reflecting on her stellar performance, Weber shared, “I did a really good job both days of just going shot for shot, which I know is such a cliché, but I’ve never been able to really do that.
I’m always thinking about ‘oh, what would happen.’ And today and yesterday, too, was very much like, ‘all right, we’ll just try and play as best as possible.’
And then when I got to putting, I was like, ‘all right, we saw the line, we committed to it, and we’re just going to make a good stroke.’
They all went in for some reason. But most importantly, I just made really good strokes every time and happened to read the greens well.
So, yeah, for me, that is what it felt like: very easy, very relaxing, not really putting pressure on myself; just like roll that ball as well as I can and see what happens.”
With a two-day total of 128, Weber shattered her previous best 36-hole score of 133, achieved at the 2023 ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, and came just one shot shy of the Portland Classic scoring record.
Weber’s journey to this moment is a tale of tenacity. After a successful stint on the Epson Tour, where she notched 12 top-10 finishes from 2019 to 2021, Weber earned her LPGA Tour membership by finishing T10 at the 2021 LPGA Q-Series.
Her rookie season on the LPGA Tour saw her make 20 starts, and despite a tough Q-Series in 2023, she has shown remarkable resilience on the Epson Tour in 2024, with four top-7 finishes, including a runner-up at the Casino del Sol Golf Classic.
Speaking about the Epson Tour, Weber remarked, “I think the strength of that tour is much stronger than most people think.
There is some really good talent out there. I’ve played with girls that are just seriously good. It’s just getting better, too.
Like that tour is doing well; this tour is doing great I think. There is a lot happening in women’s golf.”
Trailing Weber are first-round leader Polly Mack and Andrea Lee, both two strokes behind. Meanwhile, Jenny Shin and Grace Kim are three shots back at -13.
The cut line at -5 tied the lowest 36-hole cut on the LPGA Tour, ensuring an action-packed weekend at the Portland Classic.
