Bogey-free 8-under 64 puts her 3 shots off leader Yamashita; Yang Hee-young tied fifth, Choi Hye-jin and Hwang Yu-min tied 11th

Kim A-rim celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the second round of the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia on Friday. [Getty Images]
Kim A-rim celebrates after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the second round of the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia on Friday. [Getty Images]

Kim A-rim fired eight birdies in the second round of the LPGA Tour's Maybank Championship ($3 million purse) on Friday, vaulting 26 places up the leaderboard.

Playing the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (par 72) in Malaysia, Kim carded a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64 to move to 10-under 134 for the tournament. Kim climbed from a tie for 30th after Thursday's opening round to sole fourth place. Defending champion Yamashita Miyu of Japan leads at 13-under 131, three shots clear.

Kim built momentum early, collecting five birdies through the 11th hole. After steadying with four consecutive pars from the 12th through the 15th, Kim added another birdie at the par-4 16th. The run continued with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th, closing with three birdies over the final three holes and setting up a platform to chase the leader over the weekend.

Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France share second place at 11-under 133.

Among South Korean players, Yang Hee-young also sits near the top of the leaderboard. Yang shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to reach 9-under 135, tied for fifth alongside Charley Hull of England, four shots off the lead.

Choi Hye-jin, who has finished runner-up in each of the past two events, carded a 2-under 70 to sit at 7-under 137, tied for 11th. Hwang Yu-min is also at 7-under 137, level with Choi.


yjc@heraldcorp.com