Hye-Jin Choi opened with two bogeys, made up ground with a 15-foot eagle putt late and finished with a three-under 67 on Friday that gave her part of a three-way share of the lead at The Annika.
It was far more effective than the bogey-free round of Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player who could only laugh at her clean card because it was cleaner than she would have preferred – 15 straight pars, one birdie, two closing pars for a 69.
That left Korda four shots behind going into the weekend at Pelican Golf Club, where a victory would make the 28-year-old American eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“I had a lot of chances,” said Korda, competing for the first time in two months. “But you can just tell that from yesterday morning to today afternoon with the wind, that’s what the defence of this golf course is. It’s as fast as Bermuda as I’ve putted on throughout my career.”
It wasn’t a problem for Solheim Cup star Carlota Ciganda, who birdied her last four holes for a 63 to join Choi and Lindy Duncan (66) atop the leaderboard at 12-under 128.
Nelly Korda has dropped further behind the leaders. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
The Japanese duo of Mao Saigo (65) and Minami Katsu (69) were two shots behind.
Choi has been an LPGA member for five years and it has been a curious chase for that first LPGA victory, particularly since she was 17 when she had a late lead in the 2017 US Women’s Open and wound up as a runner-up.
She also had two good chances at winning during the recent Asia swing, where she was runner-up in Shanghai and South Korea.
Choi was playing in the group with Korda for the opening two rounds, which she believes has tested her enough to calm her nerves on the weekend. She wasn’t rattled by the bogey-bogey start, or the bogey on the par-five 14th, her fifth hole of the round.
She pieced together enough birdies to regain some momentum, then hit an approach that got a nice kick around the green and rolled out to just under 15 feet for eagle on the par-five seventh.
“I have two rounds left, but I have recently played in a champion group on the tournament before, so I have that experience and I’m going just try my best and concentrate on my game,” Choi said.
Scoring was low enough in the opening round that one-under 139 made the cut. This is the final regular-season event of the year, and the top 60 in the Race to CME Globe advance to the finale next week in Naples, where the winner gets $2 million.
Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain, who defeated Yealimi Noh in a crucial singles match in her Solheim Cup debut, was among those at nine-under 131. That was important for the Spaniard, who came into the week at No. 66 in the Race to the CME Globe.
Charley Hull was five shots off the leaders on seven-under. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
Duncan, the 35-year-old Floridian, has yet to win on the LPGA Tour and this was the first time she had at least a share of the lead through 36 holes. She went 2-1 in her Solheim Cup debut.
“The week has gone by really fast, which is sometimes a good thing,” Duncan said. “Because if you’re playing a lot and you get some momentum going, that’s kind of a nice way to play. So it’s just been kind of rolling with it.”
Charley Hull was five shots off the leaders on seven-under after shooting 67 on Friday. England’s Lottie Woad finished the second round level with Hull on seven-under.
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