Choi Hye-jin's First Win Not Easy... Falters to Tied 4th in 2nd Round

Lucy Lee Leads Alone at 10 Under Par with 7-Stroke Reduction

Choi Hye-jin (23, Lotte) teeing off at the LPGA Dana Open
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] Rookie Choi Hyejin (23) saw her early momentum falter.

On the 3rd (Korean time), Choi Hyejin finished the second day of the Dana Open (formerly Marathon Classic, total prize money $1.75 million) held at Highland Meadows Golf Club (par 71, 6,598 yards) in Sylvania, Ohio, USA, with a 1-under-par round, losing her lead.

After leading the leaderboard with 6-under-par the previous day, Choi recorded three birdies and two bogeys, failing to significantly reduce her score. Her total score through the day stood at 7-under-par 135, tying for 4th place with defending champion Hataoka Nasa (Japan), Lexi Thompson (USA), Caroline Masson (Germany), and Shih Wei-ling (Taiwan).

Starting at the 10th hole, Choi showed a strong start with birdies on the 11th hole (par 4) and the 18th hole (par 5). However, she stumbled with two bogeys in the back nine. Notably, her putting count increased sharply from 25 the previous day to 32, leaving some regrets.

Lucy Li (USA) shot 7-under-par on the day to take the solo lead at 10-under-par 132. Carlota Ciganda (Spain) and Lin Xiyu (China), who were co-leaders with Choi on the first day, each reduced their scores by two strokes, placing them tied for 2nd at 8-under-par 134, two strokes behind the leader.

Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and Minjee Lee (Australia) recorded 1-over-par rounds, dropping from tied 4th to tied 33rd (4-under-par 138) and from tied 12th to tied 42nd (3-under-par 139), respectively.

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