Youmin Hwang fired a course-record, 10-under-par 62 on Thursday, and she holds a three-shot lead at the midway point of the Lotte Championship in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
The 22-year-old South Korean eagled the opening hole in the second round at Hoakalei Country Club. She added nine birdies and one bogey the rest of the way, leaving her at 15-under 129.
Jessica Porvasnik and first-round leader Akie Iwai of Japan are tied for second at 12 under. Porvasnik carded a 65 on Thursday, and Iwai shot a 68.
Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, who each produced a 69 in the second round, share fourth place at 10 under.
Brooke Matthews (second-round 67) and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum (69) are 9 under, tied for sixth. World No. 1 Nelly Korda (67), South Korea’s Ina Yoon (65), Japan’s Chisato Iwai (66) and Taiwan’s Peiyun Chien (71) are tied for eighth at 8 under.
Hwang followed her eagle with a birdie at No. 2, then carded her lone bogey at the par-3 No. 4. She made the turn at 4-under 32 for the round, then was even better on the back nine, shooting 6-under 30.
“First of all, I broke my life-best score,” Hwang said through a translator. “At the same time, I broke the course record, so I feel very good.”
Hwang has two career victories on the LPGA of Korea Tour, and she won a Taiwan LPGA Tour event this year.
Asked to contrast playing in her homeland vs. playing in the United States, Hwang said, “I feel very different about the course, first, especially the grass type. It’s very different to Korea and (playing) in Korea LPGA. So I feel like I could play more freely and whatever I want to play, I just feel like I can do it.”
Porvasnik completed a bogey-free round with her seventh birdie of the day at the par-5 18th hole.
“I just hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, gave myself a lot of great looks, and made a few of those,” she said.
Akie Iwai built on her lead when she birdied her first three holes on Friday. However, her momentum was halted by a bogey at No. 4, and then she added only two more birdies in the remainder of her round.
Korda climbed into the top 10 with a bogey-free day.
“I would say the main difference between today and yesterday was just the putts dropped,” Korda said. “It was a little gustier out there today versus yesterday, so it was fun to play in, kind of show my creative side. But overall happy with the first two days.”
–Field Level Media
