In-Kyung Kim maintains a narrow lead in Honda LPGA Thailand
In-Kyung Kim maintains a lead with only one stroke after the second round of the Honda LPGA Thailand. The 22-year-old, South Korean golfer carded one over par 73 on the second day after scoring a course-record equaling nine under 63 in the first round. Kim
struggled the whole day with only four birdies, overshadowed by five bogeys coming regularly throughout the day. Kim was clearly disappointed with her poor performance but the world number seven golfer was determined to stay at the top of the leader board
till the end of the tournament. “I think leading after the first round isn't easy. I found that out the hard way” Kim said, “It was nice to have a lead. Even though I didn’t have a great round, I'm still here."
The three stroke lead by Kim was narrowed down by world number one, Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Michelle Wie of the United States. Both golfers share the second spot on the leader board, with a two round total of 137. Wie looked as consistent as she was in
the first round with 68. She scored four birdies in the bogey free second round. "It was a good day out there," said Wie, “It was hot out there with the sun. It was fun and hopefully the next two days I'll make a lot more birdies."
Yani Tseng retained her second spot in the $1.45 million tournament. The 22-year-old golfer shot one under par 71 to narrow the lead for the first spot after firing six birdies in a bogey free first round. Tseng was confident she would make several birdies
in the next two rounds, despite having a hard day Friday. "It was a really tough day for me out there. I just couldn't make a putt, had some three putts. Couldn't make my ball drop in the hole. I hung in there with drama, up and down with birdies and bogeys”,
Tseng said, "I thought I was the only one who played bad today, but I guess not, a tough golf course and a tough day out there. I think I still have lots of birdies in the next two days." Tseng took the first spot at the Rolex world golf rankings less than
a week ago after winning back to back tournaments held in Australia. She finished third in Thailand last year but this time she has to play better in order to defend her crown of being the best female golfer in the world.
Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer of the United States, Choi Na-Yeon of South Korea and Japanese Momoko Ueda tied for fourth place. Defending champion, Ai Miyazato of Japan, made a comeback with three under par 69 but probably has no chance to defend the title
as she tied for the 25th spot.
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