Newtown Square, Pa.
Sei Young Kim ignored the manually operated leaderboards dotted around Aronimink as she started to rally her way into contention.
‘’I was in a good momentum, so I just wanted to ride on that,’’ Kim said. By the time she finished sinking birdie after birdie en route toward matching a record round, Kim could afford a peek at the board: Her name was on top.
Kim birdied five of the final six holes as darkness fell Friday at Aronimink for a 5-under 65 and the second-round lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The 27-year-old South Korean closed with a 6-under 29 on the front nine. She dropped early strokes on Nos. 11 and 12 and made her lone first-nine birdie on the par-5 16th.
‘’When we entered the front nine, the wind kind of slowed down and it was kind of easier to attack with my irons,’’ she said.
Kim had a 4-under 136 total at rugged 6,437-yard Aronimink. She tied Karrie Webb (2001) and Sarah Kemp (2011) for the lowest nine-hole score in the Women’s PGA Championship.
‘’The birdie on 14 was pretty good because it was a long birdie putt, and that’s when I started the four-birdie streak,’’ Kim said. ‘’So I think that really helped me with momentum and finishing strong.’’
A 10-time LPGA Tour winner, Kim is looking for her first major victory. She was runner-up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018.
The last four winners of the tournament either led or co-led after 36 holes. Jennifer Kupcho (65), Danielle Kang (69), Carlota Ciganda (69) and Anna Nordqvist (68) were a stroke back.
Kupcho was second last weekend in the ShopRite LPGA Classic and said a run at the championship left her exhausted.
The 23-year-old Kupcho hit all 18 greens in regulation. Kupcho — winner of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur — has yet to transfer the success of her celebrated collegiate career over to the LPGA Tour. She was the No. 1 ranked amateur at Wake Forest and won the 2018 NCAA Division I Golf Championship. At majors, she failed to make the cut four times, including at the last two Women’s British Opens.
At Aronimink, Kupcho went back to what worked for her in college. She decided to use the Ping i210 irons she played with as an amateur after a talk with her parents.
Kupcho, who also brought on a new caddie in Kyle Alexander, played each nine at Aronimink only once leading into the tournament and found the unfamiliarity with the sloped greens may have worked to her advantage.—AP
