HAINAN, South Korea — At the BMW Ladies Championship, Sei-young Kim shot a 66 on Friday to take a one-shot lead on a weekend that started with a 10-under 62.
Kim shot a two-round total of 16 under par and 128 at Pine Beach Golf Links. He made one bogey and seven birdies, including three in a row on the front nine.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the third and fourth day, and it’s not just me. Everyone will feel the same pressure,” Kim said Friday. “But I just want to accept the facts and enjoy the rest of the tournament.”
American Brooke Matthews took second place with a 64, her lowest round of the day. Kim Hyo-joo scored a 68 and tied for third place with Rio Takeda (66), three spots behind Kim.
Matthews, a former University of Arkansas player, had a bogey-free round with birdies on the first two holes and Nos. 17 and 18.
“It’s funny, but we played against China last week and didn’t feel very comfortable this week and didn’t have a lot of our best stuff,” Matthews said. “But (it) allowed me to go out there and play shot by shot. I felt like my expectations were lower and I was in really good control. I was able to just stay in the moment and end up making some putts and getting some good scores.”
Australia’s Minjee Lee shot a 66 to tie for sixth place, six strokes behind Kim. Canada’s Brooke Henderson shot a 68 to move within seven strokes of the lead, and defending champion Hannah Green shot a 69 to move within nine strokes of Kim.
This is the first of back-to-back LPGA tournaments in South Korea, with an International Crown Team event scheduled for next week.
Gino Titicle became the first multiple winner on the LPGA this season when he won a five-hole playoff over Minami Katsu in Shanghai last week. Titikul will not play this week but will be part of Thailand’s squad for next week’s International Crown.
After the International Crown, the five-tournament Asian Swing will feature two more LPGA events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Japan.
