Defending champion Jin Young Ko of South Korea carded a 7-under 65 on Saturday to surge into the lead at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
The 13-time LPGA Tour winner endured a two-hour rain delay and posted eight birdies and one bogey to move to 14 under at the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club.
“I tried to focus really hard on the front nine, and I got four birdies in five holes. I felt, yeah, today is a good day, so keep going,” said Ko, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens on Saturday. “I tried (hard) on the back nine. I played well today but I had some missed putts and some great shots but not good shoots, too. It’s okay, I have one more round to go so let’s keep it up.”
Four American golfers are on Ko’s heels. Nelly Korda (68 Saturday) is second at 12 under, followed by Allisen Corpuz (70) and Elizabeth Szokol (70) at 11 under and 36-hole leader Danielle Kang (72) at -10.
Korda salvaged an up-and-down round with birdies at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th. Her tee shot at 17 flirted with the water on her left and the bunkers short of the green.
“I was just trying to give myself like 20 to 30 feet long, actually. And obviously, that’s kind of a pin position where even if you go right or left, you still have to fly the bunker. So may as well go straight at it. I did get a little lucky there,” Korda said. “I know that it hit just in the fringe and it rolled up to probably four feet, three and a half, hour feet. I told my caddie, I don’t think anyone is going to see a shot somewhat short of this hole on the green.”
Four players are tied for sixth at -9, including LPGA Tour winner Celine Boutier, Japanese natives Nasa Hataoka and Ayaka Furue and Sweden’s Linn Grant.
Corpuz is looking to become the first player from Hawaii to win on the LPGA Tour since Michelle Wie West won the 2018 HSBC Women’s World Championship.
With the $270,000 winner’s check on Sunday, Szokol would surpass the $1 million mark in career earnings.
–Field Level Media