South Koreans Hee Young Park and Inbee Park will head into the weekend of the HSBC Women’s World Championship tied for the lead at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
First round leader Inbee recovered from a slow start to card a three-under-par 69 in the second round, while Hee Young shot a 68 to match the former’s 36-hole total of 11-under-par at Sentosa’s highly-rated Tanjong Course.
China’s Xiyu Lin and another Korean, Hyo Joo Kim, are two shots off the pace on nine-under-par.
Hee Young, whose relationship with Inbee goes back to middle school in South Korea, credited her friend and competitor for her excellent form in round two.
“I think when I have a good competitor out there with similar score or anything with the same level, I think it’s good really to keep pushing, play aggressive. So really good for me, challenging out there. I think I’m in a really good position right now,” said the 33-year-old, who has three wins on the LPGA Tour with the last coming at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in early 2020.
With challenging pin positions and some wind to contend with, Inbee had a quiet day by her standards. The two-time champion at Sentosa however managed to salvage a decent score, saving par after wayward shots on more than one occasion.
“It was a little betrayal of my putter today. Misread a few putts, but I still feel like I fought pretty well, especially the front nine,” said Inbee, who is a year younger than Hee Young.
“Hee Young and I are almost the same age and we are a little more oldies on the tour. We were talking about how the weather is just killing us because we are not as young as like ten years ago! We had great fun out there,” added the seven-time Major winner.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda shot an impressive five-under-par 67 to move up to fifth place alongside So Yeon Ryu of South Korea. Australia’s Hannah Green equalled the low score of the day, a six-under-par 66, to lie in seventh place alongside Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Amy Yang of South Korea and German duo Caroline Masson and Sophia Popov.
Former World No 1 Lydia Ko will be one to watch over the weekend, on the back of a win at the Lotte Championship a fortnight ago and a second-place finish at the ANA Inspiration the week before. “I feel like the game has been pretty solid, not making too many mistakes and I think that’s really important around here.
“I’m just trying to keep up with the field, go with it, and just be aggressive and confident when I’m out there playing. I think I’ve just got to focus on my game and see where it takes me and keep playing solid and stay cool out there … and see where I end up on Sunday,” noted Ko.
Playing for her first time in Singapore, Popov remains very much in contention at the halfway stage. Showing just how demanding the hot and humid conditions are, the 28-year-old from Heidelberg found herself carrying her own bag for the final holes of the round after her caddie was forced to retire with dehydration.
The HSBC Women’s World Championship is broadcast ‘live’ on the Golf Channel HD (Astro Channel 822) daily from 9.30am to 2.30pm. For more information, visit the tournament website at hsbcgolf.com/womens
