Kim Min-ju holds a one-stroke lead despite a double bogey on the final hole. [Photo=LPGA]
Kim Min-ju holds a one-stroke lead despite a double bogey on the final hole. [Photo=LPGA]

Kim Min-ju overcame a double bogey on the final hole to hold the lead for a second consecutive day at the KLPGA Tour's Aurora World Championship.

Kim carded seven birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey for a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at Aurora Golf & Resort (par 72, 6,620 yards) in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Her two-round total of 10-under-par 134 left her one stroke ahead of Lee Ye-won in second place.

The round put Kim within sight of her second career KLPGA title, roughly one year and three months after she claimed her first at the iM Financial Open in April last year. Speaking after her round, Kim quoted a Korean saying about getting bad news out of the way early. "Just as they say it's better to get a beating sooner rather than later, I'll think of the mistakes I made today as a preventive shot," she said. "I'll shake off the errors and focus on rounds three and four."

Kim started her second round on the 10th hole and showed sharp ball-striking from the outset. She drained a long birdie putt from 13.5 meters on the par-5 13th to build momentum, then reeled off four consecutive birdies on holes 15 through 18 to move five strokes under for the day.

She kept the momentum going with a birdie on the par-4 2nd hole, but dropped shots with consecutive bogeys at holes 4 and 5. A birdie on the par-3 8th appeared to steady her round, only for her tee shot on the closing par-4 9th to veer left into an out-of-bounds zone, resulting in a double bogey that trimmed her lead to one heading into the third round. "At the moment of impact on the tee shot, my timing was off and the clubface closed," Kim said of the 9th hole.

Lee Ye-won, a 10-time winner on tour, posted a flawless round of five birdies and no bogeys to reach 9-under-par 135 at the halfway mark, keeping the pressure on Kim at one stroke back. The result put Lee in position to chase her second win of the season and 11th career title, three months after her victory at the Dukshin EPC Championship in April.

"I think you'd need to reach around 16-under to be in a comfortable position to contend for the title," Lee said. "But weekend rounds get trickier with tougher course setups and added psychological pressure. The key will be handling that pressure and staying in my own rhythm."

Kim Sae-ro-mi, who shared the first-round lead with Kim Min-ju, managed only one birdie on Friday and dropped to sole third at 8-under-par 136.

Jang Eun-su moved into a tie for fourth at 7-under-par 137 alongside Lee Ji-hyeon 3, carding six birdies and one bogey for a 5-under round.

Park Min-ji, a 20-time winner on tour, fired a 5-under-par 67 to join Seo Gyo-rim and Hong Jin-young 2 in a three-way tie for sixth at 6-under-par 138.


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