Hyo Joo Kim held a share of the first-round lead with Lydia Ko sitting two strokes behind. Kim and Ko have separated themselves from the pack, pulling ahead early on day two into a share of the lead at eight-under par, one ahead of Alison Lee and Ha Na Jang at seven-under par at the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I.
Kim followed her opening round 66 with a 68 on Friday to maintain a share of the lead here at Highland Meadow Golf Club.
“Definitely feeling yesterday was way better,” Kim said. “Still today I played great, so I feel good.”
Ko, a three-time winner this year, shares the lead with Kim, matching her with opening rounds of 68-66 to climb to eight-under par heading into the weekend. Unlike Kim, Ko started her day on the back nine and got a quick boost at the par 4, 10th hole with a birdie, but dropped a shot at the par 4, 12th before bouncing back with two additional birdies on the back nine.
“I think I had few more looks for birdies and a few that decided to drop. Even today I had a few that were so close to going in and didn't drop. I felt like I did leave a few out there,” Ko said. “In this wind and in the conditions I feel like my score is a pretty solid one this morning.”
Lee sits just one-back of the lead heading into the weekend. She started her day on the back nine and picked up a bogey on the par 4, 13th before back-to-back-back birdies on the front to card a five-under-par, 66 to move to seven-under par for the week.
“Yeah, finishing birdie, birdie, birdie on the last three holes was great obviously. I haven't had a good round like this in a while,” Lee told media. “To be honest, I struggled fairly a lot for the past like about four months. Feels great to shoot under par again.”
South Korean native Jang started her day on the back nine and went bogey-free, making the turn at even-par. She picked up an early birdie on No. 1 and followed with three additional birdies to card a four-under-par, 67 to sit one shot back at T-2 with Lee.
“I think just be patient every hole, just fairway, and the greens. Because this golf course really small green,” Jang explained. “Just target is middle of the green, so it's really good playing. Then just par, par, par. And then tap-in birdie is good. Birdie is good. Par is good. Always just be patient every hole.”
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