So-yeon Yu 'Leaps to Lead'... Jin-young Ko and Se-young Kim Tied for 3rd, 4 Strokes Behind

Korean Women's Open Day 2: Oh Ji-hyun 5 Under Par, 2nd Place by 1 Stroke, Choi Hye-jin 6th, Kim Hyo-joo 8th 'Chasing Battle'

Yoo So-yeon is making an iron shot on the 18th hole on the second day of the Korea Women's Open. Photo by Korea Women's Open

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No. 18 Yoo So-yeon (30, Mediheal) takes the lead.

On the 19th, at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 72, 6,929 yards), during the second day of the 'National Title' Kia Motors Korea Women's Open (total prize money 1 billion KRW), she posted 5 under par to dominate the top of the leaderboard (11 under par, 133 strokes). 2018 champion Oh Ji-hyun (24, KB Financial Group) is in second place (10 under par, 134 strokes), while world No. 1 Ko Jin-young (25), Kim Se-young (27, Mirae Asset), and Kim Hae-rim (31, Samchully) are tied for third place (7 under par, 137 strokes) in pursuit.

Yoo So-yeon, active on the LPGA Tour, started from a tie for second place, one stroke behind, and made six birdies (one bogey). She made four consecutive birdies from holes 11 to 14 to reach the top of the leaderboard, then took a brief breather with a bogey on the 17th hole (par 3). In the back nine, she showed clean play by adding two more birdies on the 2nd hole (par 5) and 5th hole (par 4). Leading by one stroke, she is on the verge of her 10th KLPGA Tour win in 4 years and 10 months since the 2015 High1 Resort Ladies Open.

Yoo So-yeon is known as a 'National Title Killer,' having won the China Women's Open in 2009, the US Women's Open in 2011, the Canadian Women's Open in 2014, and the Japan Women's Open in 2018. Yoo said, "I made a few shot mistakes, but I managed to block them well with putting," and added, "It's been a while since I've been in a winning competition. I will focus on finishing this tournament positively." Oh Ji-hyun fired a 6-under par round and is aiming for the winner's trophy for the first time in two years.

Ko Jin-young is making an iron shot on the 13th hole on the second day of the Korea Women's Open. Photo by Korea Women's Open

Ko Jin-young, who was the leader the previous day, exchanged two birdies for two bogeys and failed to reduce her score. She is four strokes behind the leader. "I'm glad I didn't shoot over par," she said, "There are still two days left, so I will create opportunities." 'Domestic No. 1' Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte) added 3 under par to position herself in a tie for 6th place, five strokes behind (6 under par, 138 strokes). Seo Yeon-jung (25, Yojin Construction) joined this group with a course record-tying 7 under par.

Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte) lowered her score by three strokes to climb to a tie for 8th place (5 under par, 139 strokes). Lee Jeong-eun 6 (24, Daebang Construction) and Lim Hee-jung (20) are tied for 11th place (4 under par, 140 strokes), and Lee Min-young (28, all Hanwha Q CELLS) is tied for 18th place (3 under par, 141 strokes). Bae Seon-woo (26) is tied for 25th place (2 under par, 142 strokes), while defending champion Lee Da-yeon (23, Mediheal), Ji Eun-hee (34, Hanwha Q CELLS), Park Hyun-kyung (20, Korea Land & Trust), Lee So-young (23, Lotte), and Cho Ah-yeon (20, Volvik) are tied for 28th place (1 under par, 143 strokes).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.