Rising star Jeeno Thitikul and LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko sit first and second on the leaderboard after an exciting second round at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. After Ko came in from the morning wave with a 6-under 66, Thitikul shot the same in the afternoon to finish at 12-under overall and take a one-stroke lead over the 21-time Tour winner, who currently sits at 11-under.

Thitikul started her afternoon on No. 10 and grabbed her first of seven birdies on Friday on the par-5 11th hole. She added another on 13 after making a seven-foot birdie putt and then made back-to-back birdies just before the turn on 17 and 18. Going out in 32 at 10-under overall, Thitikul dropped a shot with a bogey on one but picked it back up with a birdie on six, another par 5. On eight, Thitikul birdied her fourth par 5 of the day, officially going four-for-four on those holes on Friday. She ended the day with an impressive birdie on nine, which played as the hardest hole on both Thursday and Friday. Thitikul stuck her approach within five feet for an easy final birdie putt that moved her into the solo lead with Moving Day on deck.

“It's pretty good. I think it's really kind of a low-scoring course, so a lot of players get low on this course. The par 5s are reachable, can make all the par 5s I guess. That's pretty much the point of this course,” said Thitikul, following her round. When asked about the difficulty of No. 9, she added. “It is (hard) because you have water on the front, and then if you go long, it's going to be in the rough and downhill lie. But just commit to the shot. I have pitching wedge, so it's kind of easier than the practice round, which I had like 7- or 8-iron.”

Unlike Thitikul, Ko played in the softer morning conditions and started on No. 1. She opened her round with five straight pars before picking up her first birdie of the day on the par-5 6th hole. On par-5 8th hole, she made an eagle after missing the green and then holing her chip shot. She made four more pars before making back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. Finally, she finished her bogey-free round with another birdie on 18. Ko is the only player to remain bogey-free through two days of play at TPC River’s Bend.

While Thitikul is searching for her second win of the season, Ko is chasing her third, and that doesn’t include her gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After winning the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Ko’s win in Paris earned her the final point she needed for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She capped off the summer with her third major championship victory at the AIG Women’s Open and, now, she is in the hunt for another win in Ohio.

“I obviously came off an amazing three-week stretch in Europe. In ways, I wanted to make sure that I kind of came back to the ground and work on the basics and the things I've been working on the past few months,” said Ko to Golf Channel after her round, saying to media later, “I feel like I set myself a good plan going into the week, so that's what I'm going to stick to. I know there is still a lot of golf to be played, so I will focus on me, and I think that's the biggest thing that I've been doing well this past month or so."

Haeran Ryu, who is the Tour’s most recent individual champion, sits behind Ko and Thitikul at 10-under overall. Ryu earned her second career victory at the FM Championship in Norton, Mass., two weeks ago, and has been one of the most successful players on Tour this season with eight additional top-10 finishes. Four players are in a tie for fourth, including Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Maria Fassi, American Yealimi Noh and People’s Republic of China native Yan Liu, who had missed the cut in her last seven starts leading into the Queen City Championship. Rounding out the top 10 are seven players in a tie for eighth, including 2024 European Solheim Cup Team members Anna Nordqvist and Albane Valenzuela.

The cut was made at 1-under on Friday, with 76 players set to play the weekend.

Jeeno Thitikul Leads Lydia Ko by One at Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G

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