Kim Hyo-joo '4-Stroke Lead'... '2-Time Champion' Park Hyun-kyung in 2nd Place

KB Financial Star Championship Day 2: 3 Under Par, Ko Jin-young and Hur Mi-jung Tied for 3rd, Choi Hye-jin Tied for 6th in Pursuit

Kim Hyo-joo is making an iron shot on the 1st hole on the second day of the KB Financial Star Championship. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Kim Hyo-joo (25, Lotte) took the lead.

On the 16th, at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province (par 72, 6,702 yards), during the second day of the KLPGA Tour major KB Financial Star Championship (total prize money 1.2 billion KRW), she added 3 under par to hold the top spot on the leaderboard for the second consecutive day (9 under par, 135 strokes). 'Two-time champion' Park Hyun-kyung (20, Korea Land & Trust) is in second place (5 under par, 139 strokes), while 'Number 1' Ko Jin-young (25) and Hur Mi-jung (31, Daebang Construction) are tied for third place (4 under par, 140 strokes), engaging in a chase.

Kim Hyo-joo started tied for the lead and made four birdies (one bogey). After consecutive birdies on holes 3 and 4, she took a brief breather with a bogey on the 5th hole (par 5), then added two more birdies on the 14th and 17th holes. Leading by four strokes, she is poised for her second win of the season, four months after winning the Lotte Cantata Ladies Open in June. As a member of the LPGA Tour, Kim Hyo-joo is competing in the domestic tour this year due to the impact of COVID-19.

This season, in 11 tournaments, she has entered the top 10 five times, including one win, ranking 4th in prize money (416 million KRW) and 1st in average score (69.10 strokes). Prize money leader Park Hyun-kyung reduced the gap by two strokes and is eyeing a comeback. Ko Jin-young and Hur Mi-jung both shot 3 under par to join the race for the championship. Choi Hye-jin (21, Lotte) is tied for 6th place (2 under par, 142 strokes). Jang Ha-na (28, BC Card) and Park Joo-young (30, Dongbu Construction), who were co-leaders the previous day, lost four strokes each and fell into this group.

Defending champion Lim Hee-jung (20, Hanwha Q CELLS) exchanged three birdies for three bogeys and failed to reduce her score. She is tied for 10th place (even par, 144 strokes) along with Lee Jeong-eun6 (24, Daebang Construction), Yoo Hae-ran (19, SK Networks), and Lee Da-yeon (23, Mediheal). Oh Ji-hyun (24, KB Financial Group) and Kim Min-seon5 (25, Korea Land & Trust) are tied for 14th place (1 over par, 145 strokes), Yoo So-yeon (30, Mediheal) is tied for 33rd place (5 over par, 149 strokes), and Ahn Song-i (30, KB Financial Group) is tied for 47th place (7 over par, 151 strokes).

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