Andrea Lee surged to the top of the BMW Ladies Championship leaderboard Friday with a second straight round of 6-under 66 in Wonju, South Korea.
Lee birdied three of her last four holes at Oak Valley Country Club to move to 12-under, two shots clear of fellow American Lilia Vu, Korean amateur Minsol Kim and first-round leader Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.
“Another bogey-free round, which I’m really pleased with. Hit all the greens, all the fairways and just made some putts out there,” said Lee, who hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens.
“Honestly a few of them didn’t drop within like 10, 15 feet, but overall played really well and hopefully I can keep it going this weekend.”
Vu’s second-round 66 included five birdies, a bogey at the par-4 14th hole and an eagle at the par-5 15th, as well as a shot of enjoyment.
“It’s always fun to play with Andrea, and A Lim (Kim) was also in the group and she’s hilarious,” Vu said. “We had a great time. I think we laughed basically the whole entire round.”
After setting a tournament scoring record with a 9-under 63 on Thursday, the 19-year-old Thitikul weathered an eventful four-hole stretch on the back nine. She bogeyed the par-3 12th hole and double-bogeyed at the par-4 13th, but bounced back with a birdie at 14 and an eagle at No. 15.
“It’s been a roller coaster back nine,” Thitikul said. “… Seems like today is not my day. This is my goal, as well: If it’s not your day, how you’re going to bounce back, how you’re going to keep it in contention as much as you can.”
Kim, just 16 years old, carded three bogeys, three birdies and an eagle to remain in the top four heading into the weekend.
Australia’s Lydia Ko (68 Friday) and South Korea’s Yaeeun Hong (70) are tied for fifth at 8-under, with Australian Hannah Green (67) one shot back in solo seventh.
–Field Level Media