Hur surges to top, Ariya slips to joint 10th place
BEIJING: Hur Mi-Jung eagled two of the last three holes yesterday for a 10-under 63 and a share of the second round lead with Brooke Henderson in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.
Hur chipped in from 45 feet for eagle on the par-five 16th, lipped out a birdie try on the par-three 17th, and hit a 3-wood to set up a tap-in eagle on the par-five 18th. The 26-year-old South Korean player broke the tournament record of 64 in the event being played for the third time. She has two career LPGA Tour victories.
Henderson shot her second straight 66, saving par on 18 with a six-footer to match Hur at 14-under 132 at Reignwood Pine Valley in the Asian Swing opener. The 19-year-old Canadian star, planning to play all six weeks in Asia, birdied five of the first six holes after birdieing three of the final four on Thursday. She made her lone bogey in two days on the parthree seventh, and added birdies on 12, 15 and 16.
Ranked fourth in the world, Henderson has two victories this year, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June for her first major and successfully defending her Portland, Oregon, title in July.
China’s Feng Shanshan was a stroke back after a 65. The bronze medallist in the Rio Olympics, Feng won the inaugural Reignwood LPGA in 2013 for the second of her four tour titles. In 2012, she won the LPGA Championship to become China’s first major champion.
Kim In-Kyung was 12 under after a 64, followed by fellow South Korean players Lee Mi-Rim (67) at 10 under and Amy Yang (67) at nine under. Canada’s Maude-Aimee Leblanc (66) was eight under.
Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, the first-round leader after a 65, had a 75 to drop into a tie for 10th at six under along with her sister Moriya (70) and five other players. The 20-year-old Thai player, in position to take the player of the year lead from Lydia Ko with a ninth-place finish or better, played the five par fives in three over with a double bogey on No.9 and a bogey on 12.
Ariya leads the LPGA Tour with five victories. Winless entering the season, she won three straight events in May, took the major Women’s British Open in July and the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in August.