Two eagles carried two-time major winner Haeran Ryu to a two-stroke lead on Friday after two rounds of the BMW Ladies Championship in Haenam-gun, South Korea.
Ryu eagled both par-5 holes on the front none and added four birdies on the back to card an 8-under 64, moving her to 13-under for the tournament at the Pine Beach Golf Links.
“Today was an amazing day because I really worried about the wind but today’s wind is much better than yesterday, so that’s why I hit a lot of greens today,” Ryu said. “Everything is good for me, so yeah, I’m happy right now.”
Fellow South Korean Minsun7 Kim also shot 64 and is tied for second at 11-under with Lauren Coughlin, who posted six birdies on her bogey-free scorecard.
Kim collected eight birdies while competing in just her second LPGA Tour event.
“Winning wasn’t really my goal coming into this tournament, so I’m already happy just to be in such a good position,” she said. “Now that I’ve got this opportunity, I’ve been trying to focus on my shot tempo and routine over the last two days.
“The LPGA players tend to play a little faster, so I think if I can avoid getting caught up in their pace and just stay focused on my own game, I have a chance to put up an even better score.”
Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez (67 on Friday) and first-round co-leader Karis Davidson of Australia (68) share fourth place at 10-under.
Japan’s Yuri Yoshida, who shared the lead to begin the round, shot 69 and slipped into a tie for sixth place with compatriot Chizzy Iwai (66) and South Korea’s Minju Kim (66).
Defending champion Sei Young Kim of South Korea climbed 17 places into a tie for 23rd after moving to 5-under with a 67 that included seven birdies and two bogeys.
Andrea Lee aced the par-3 eighth hole using a 9-iron from 122 yards. The ball hit the green, hopped once and flushed in the hole, winning the American an all-electric MINI Countryman.
“It honestly came when I least expected it,” Lee said. “I wasn’t even looking at the car. I just wanted to hit a good shot, and somehow it went in. No one even screamed at the green. It was like the most quiet hole-in-one I’ve ever hit.”
This is the second of four events on the fall Asian swing, followed by tournaments in Malaysia and Japan.