China’s Ruoning Yin tied for the best round of the DIO Implant LA Open on Friday, and she shares the second-round lead with South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Yin shot a 7-under-par 64, leaving her at 10-under 132, level with Kim, who carded her second consecutive 66.
Defending champion Nasa Hataoka of Japan sits alone in third place at 9 under after a 66. Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc produced her second straight 67, and she holds fourth place at 8 under.
Lilia Vu (second-round 66) and Megan Khang (69) are tied for fifth at 7 under, with Jennifer Kupcho (64) and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit (67) tied for seventh at 6 under.
England’s Charley Hull and France’s Perrine Delacour both shot 69, leaving them at 5 under, tied for ninth.
Yin completed a symmetrical round: four birdies on the back nine, then her lone bogey at the par-4 18th hole, then four birdies on the front nine.
The 20-year-old, in her second LPGA year, is trying to top her career-best result of a tie for fourth at the Dana Open last fall.
“Today I played pretty good,” Yin said. “I think I hit 13 fairways and 13 greens and 24 putts, which is amazing for me I think. …
“I felt my game was in a pretty solid spot right now. I can strike the ball well and my approach shots (are) pretty good. Yeah, everything is pretty good.”
Kim’s error-free day included consecutive birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 as she finished on the front nine.
“My short game today was really good and I think that led to a bogey-free round,” Kim said. “There were a couple situations actually where I could have carded a bogey, but in those instances my putter worked well.”
Hataoka also completed the second round without a bogey, capped by a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole.
“The plan for today was simple: Do the same thing I did yesterday, try to focus on my shot, try not to think too much about my shot, and I think that really worked out today,” Hataoka said.
“To be honest I had a couple putts I could’ve made. On the last hole it was a challenging line, but I was able to putt really well, and then that really helped my game today.”
First-round leader Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea stumbled to a 74 on Friday and is tied for 16th at 3 under.
–Field Level Media