American Danielle Kang snatched the second-round lead by firing a sizzling nine-under-par 63 on a rain-soaked Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
More than four hours of play were lost because of heavy rain at the Sentosa Golf Club. Thunderstorms first delayed the start of the second round by more than an hour in the morning before continuous rain forced play to be suspended again at 11:20am.
When play finally resumed at 2:45pm, Kang impressed with her putting around the tricky greens.
The 30-year-old, a six-time LPGA winner, needed only 25 putts as she marked her card with birdies on holes 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 16 for a two-day total of 10-under-par 134.
“My ball striking helped me out a little bit today. But my putter has been really hot for a while and it’s working,” Kang said. “I actually don’t mind weather delays that much because I have time to chill and meditate. I stayed really patient and focused on what was in front of me and I think I did a really good job.”
Allisen Corpuz of the USA, who is chasing her maiden LPGA breakthrough this week, moved 12 places up the leaderboard with a 65, having started the day tied for 14th.
The 24-year-old remains focused on the task ahead despite enjoying a solid round where she traded six birdies, an eagle and a bogey.
“I’m just trying to go out there and play my best golf. I take a little extra time to breathe over shots and hit the best shots that I can instead of thinking about the scores and results too much,” said Corpuz.
South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo, the 2021 champion, dropped only one shot on the par-four 11 as she mixed her card with six other birdies to stay in the hunt for her second HSBC Women’s World Championship win.
“The weather wasn’t fantastic today, but I managed to get over that and focused on playing well. I’ve won on this course before and I’m confident of my chances,” said Hyo.
South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai is just two shots behind the leader after a second-round 67 that included six birdies and a bogey.
The HSBC Women’s World Championship features 17 of the world’s top 20, including the top five.
© Agence France-Presse
