FIL-JAPANESE Yuka Saso sizzled with a second straight eight-under par 64 on Friday to blow past former world No. 1 Lydia Ko into the solo lead in the Lotte Championship at the Kapolei Golf Club in Hawaii.
The joint leader after the opening round, Saso found herself trailing after Ko, a two-time major champion who's seeking her first win since 2018, stormed into the clubhouse lead with a tournament-best 63 and a 14-under 130 total.
Unfazed, the 19-year old Saso went on a birdie binge that saw her make nine against a lone bogey. Consecutive birdies from the 16th hole enabled her to move past Ko into the solo lead in the $2-million event.
At an astonishing 16-under 128, Saso is right on course to winning her first ever LPGA title to adorn an already impressive collection that included two Asian Games gold medals and two pro victories in Japan.
Saso is in just her sixth LPGA Tour event and is really uncomfortable with the Hawaii wind.
“I’m trying to get used to it,” Saso said. “The wind is still strong. Like I said yesterday, I don’t really like windy conditions. I’m happy I’m able to play good even if I don’t really like it.”
Saso, who turned pro in November 2019, plays primarily on the Japan LPGA Tour, and is ranked 43rd in the world. Her best previous LPGA score was 69, and her highest finish was 13th at the U.S. Women's Open last December.
Bianca Pagdanganan atoned for an opening 76 with a 68, but she still fell three shots short of the halfway cut. Dottie Ardina finished at one-over after a second-round 70.
Ko, from New Zealand, is 24 under par her last three rounds. She nearly caught Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit with a final-round 62 last week at the year's first major, the ANA Inspiration. She will now join Saso in the final pairing of the third round.
Ko had an opening-round 67 at Kapolei and was 14 under at the midpoint. The 23-year-old from New Zealand made nine birdies in her bogey-free second round and needed just 24 putts.
“Coming into this week, obviously coming off the best round in a really long time, I kind of didn’t know what to expect,” Ko said. “Obviously you feel like your game is moving in the right direction, but you don’t want to kind of slack off. Having a good round under my belt yesterday definitely helped. This is a golf course where especially when the wind is down it’s pretty gettable.”
Fourth-ranked Nelly Korda was five shots back along with So Yeon Ryu, Hyo Joo Kim and Luna Sobron Galmes, who plays primarily on the Ladies European Tour. Sobron Galmes had 10 birdies while shooting 64.
U.S. Women's Open champion A Lim Kim was 10 under after a 64, joined by Ally Ewing and Brianna Do, who shot a career-low 66.
- With reports from AP
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