▲ Ko Ji-woo examines the green
Ko Ji-woo, known as the "Birdie Bomber," has surged to the sole lead in the second round of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour High1 Resort Women's Open (total prize money of 1 billion KRW).
On July 10, Ko carded a 6-under 67 in the second round held at the High1 Country Club (par 73) in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, featuring seven birdies and one bogey.
With a total score of 15-under 131, she sits at the top of the leaderboard, two strokes ahead of second-place Sung Yu-jin (13-under 133).
Ko, who has three career victories, now has a golden opportunity to secure her first win of the season.
After tying for first place in the opening round with a 9-under 64, driven by an aggressive course strategy, Ko continued her bold play from the front nine today.
On the 1st hole (par 4), she attempted to drive the green but landed in a bunker. However, she recovered with a second shot that landed 3.6 meters from the hole, setting up a birdie.
She added error-free birdies on the 3rd hole (par 4) and the 5th hole (par 5).
Ko suffered her first bogey of the day on the 8th hole (par 3) after a three-putt.
However, she regained her focus on the back nine and resumed her birdie hunt.
She recorded consecutive birdies on the 11th hole (par 5) and 12th hole (par 4), and added further birdies on the 15th hole (par 5) and 17th hole (par 4) to widen the gap between her and the group tied for second.
After finishing her round, she said, "I didn't let the rain or wind bother me, and my putting was on point, which led to a good score. After suffering a finger injury (last year), I realized the importance of taking care of my body. Doing a lot of strength training is having a positive impact."
Sung Yu-jin, who played on the LPGA Tour in the 2024 season before returning to the domestic tour last year, shot a 6-under 67 with one eagle and four birdies, moving into sole second place.
Rookie Yang Hyo-jin, Kim Min-ju—who claimed her first career win last year—and Jeon Ye-seong, who has one career victory but six runner-up finishes, are tied for third at 12-under 134.
"Super rookie" Kim Min-sol, who has three wins this season, and Park Hyun-kyung, who won the JLPGA Tour Earth Mondahmin Cup last month, both reached the midway point tied for 24th at 6-under 140.
Defending champion Bang Shin-sil barely made the cut, finishing tied for 57th at 3-under 143.
Park Min-ji, who was aiming for a record-breaking 21st career victory on the KLPGA Tour, missed the cut with a score of 1-under 145.
(Photo: Provided by KLPGA Tour, Yonhap News)
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