Kang Min-ji on her way to a share of fourth place. [AFP]
Kang Min-ji on her way to a share of fourth place. [AFP]

South Korean golfer Kang Min-ji carded a hole-in-one on the second day of the LPGA Tour's Meijer Classic, moving into a share of fourth place at the $3.25 million event.

Playing Saturday at Blythefield Country Club (par 72) in Belmont, Michigan, Kang fired a 4-under-par 68 — highlighted by a hole-in-one, four birdies and two bogeys — to reach a 36-hole total of 8-under 136, tied for fourth with Liu Yan of China. She sits two strokes behind leader Yan Jing of the United States.

Kang opened with a birdie on the par-5 fourth hole but wobbled with back-to-back bogeys on the par-5 eighth and 10th. She turned her round around with a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th, holing her tee shot with a 7-iron for a two-stroke gain. Riding that momentum, she closed with three consecutive birdies on holes 16 through 18 to climb the leaderboard.

"I had no idea the hole-in-one was coming," Kang said after her round. "This is my fourth career hole-in-one. I also made my third one on the 11th hole of this course two years ago. It's amazing." She added that staying patient and focused until the end seemed to produce the good result.

Kang earned her LPGA Tour card for 2024 by finishing fifth on the Epson Tour money list in 2023, but lost her card after missing 11 cuts in 19 starts during her rookie season. She returned to the Epson Tour last year, finishing ninth on the rankings, and regained her LPGA Tour card for this season. Last month, she posted a share of ninth at the Riviera Maya Open in Mexico — her first career top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour.

Yan Jing shot a 6-under 66 to reach 10-under 134, taking sole possession of the lead by one stroke over joint second-place finishers Lottie Woad of England and Cassie Porter of Australia.

Lee So-mi carded a 5-under 67 on Saturday to sit at 5-under 139, tied for 16th. Rookie Hwang Yu-min, who shared fourth after the opening round, slipped to a share of 22nd after posting an even-par round, leaving her at 4-under 140.

Defending champion Carlota Ciganda of Spain sits at 3-under 141, tied for 36th.


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