Korean star falls one stroke off the lead with 36-hole total of 3-under par; Jeon In-ji, 2015 champion, joins her at T-3

Kim Sei-young slips to tied third after Round 2 of the US Women's Open. [AFP]
Kim Sei-young slips to tied third after Round 2 of the US Women's Open. [AFP]

Kim Sei-young dropped one spot to tied third at the US Women's Open after carding a 1-over-par round Saturday, slipping back in the $12.5 million event.

Playing at Riviera Country Club (par 71) in Pacific Palisades, California, Kim posted two birdies and three bogeys for a 1-over 72 in the second round of the 81st US Women's Open.

Having begun the day in sole second place, Kim finished with a 36-hole total of 3-under 139, joining Jeon In-ji, Yoo Hyun-jo, Jennifer Kupcho (United States), Shibuno Hinako (Japan) and Gaby Lopez (Mexico) in a six-way tie for third.

Korean-American Allison Lee and China's Yin Ruoning surged to the top of the leaderboard at 4-under 138, one stroke clear of the tied-third group. Lee carded a 3-under round, while Yin played bogey-free with two birdies.

Kim opened with a birdie on the par-5 1st hole but dropped her first bogey on the par-4 2nd after a 7-meter par putt stopped just short of the cup. She turned at even par, then found fortune on the par-4 10th — her approach caught the fringe, but a 4.4-meter putt teetered on the edge before dropping in for a birdie.

The back nine unraveled from there. Kim missed a 1-meter par putt on the par-3 14th for a bogey, then failed to reach the green in regulation on the par-4 18th and missed a 2.8-meter par putt to drop another stroke.

Jeon In-ji, the 2015 champion, made a strong move toward reclaiming the title 11 years on. After an even-par 71 in the first round, Jeon fired a 3-under 68 Saturday — five birdies against two bogeys — to climb into the tied-third position at 3-under 139.

Yoo Hyun-jo, last year's KLPGA Tour Player of the Year, also joined the group at 3-under 139 after trading four birdies for four bogeys in an even-par 71, drawing level with Kim and Jeon.

Kim Hyo-joo struggled to a 6-over 77 — two birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey — finishing at 9-over 151 in a tie for 113th alongside Lee Mi-hyang and missing the cut.


yjc@heraldcorp.com