Hae Ran Ryu of South Korea carded a second consecutive 7-under-par 64 to extend her lead after two rounds of the NW Arkansas Championship on Saturday in Rogers, Ark.
Ryu, 22, sits at 14-under 128 and holds a two-stroke lead over Japan’s Yuna Nishimura (64 on Saturday) and Australia’s Hannah Green (65). Ryu led by one stroke after 18 holes.
Jenny Shin (66), also of South Korea, trails by three strokes in solo fourth and Sei Young Kim is now in the hunt at 10 under and alone in fifth. The South Korean fired a 63, low round of the day, to leap 49 spots up the leaderboard and into the chase.
Five players are five shots off the lead in a tie for sixth.
Ryu rattled off four straight birdies on the front nine en route to seven for the day, turning in a bogey-free card.
“Today on the first nine holes my shot is so perfect but I can’t make some birdies, but I can’t focus on my putts,” Ryu said. “Always I miss the cup. It’s more confidence after nine holes that I can make so many birdies.”
But the story of Saturday’s round was Kim, who also played bogey-free golf while recording eight birdies, including her own stretch of four straight on Nos. 14-17. A long birdie putt on the par-4 first hole jumpstarted her day.
“First hole I made pretty much long putt, so I feel like, ‘Oh, it’s good week with my putter,'” Kim said, adding that she “got the good momentum” after birdies on Nos. 8 & 9.
Green, meanwhile, kept pace with her second consecutive 65. She posted six birdies without a bogey.
“I think I hit my wedges really good today,” Green said. “I feel like they’re usually the thing that kind of fluctuates throughout the tournament, but today they were really solid.
“I did miss a few putts out there. Not that they were makable to begin with, but it was kind of unfortunate that they lipped out,” she added. “But still really happy with today’s round because it felt kind of flat through the middle there, and then it was nice to pick up two birdies the last two holes.”
–Field Level Media
