Hwang Yu-min Tied for 5th After Second Round at LPGA TOTO Japan Classic

Hwang Yu-min trimmed five strokes in the second round of the TOTO Japan Classic, the final tournament of the LPGA Tour's autumn "Asian Swing," fueling her bid for the title.

Playing at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, Hwang carded five-under 67 with eight birdies and three bogeys in the second round.

With a cumulative total of nine-under 135, Hwang climbed two spots from the previous day into a tie for fifth place, three shots behind Japan's defending champion Nasa Hataoka, who took the sole lead.

Hataoka shot an eight-under 64 featuring one eagle, eight birdies, and two bogeys, advancing toward her second consecutive tournament victory.

Miyu Yamashita, the winner of the preceding Maybank Championship, shaved five strokes to drop to second place at eleven-under 133 overall.

Hwang performed solidly with a 78.6 percent driving accuracy, an 83.3 percent green-in-regulation rate, and 29 putts.

After making her first birdie on the 2nd hole and her first bogey on the 4th, Hwang picked up another stroke on the front nine by stringing together consecutive birdies on the 7th and 8th holes followed by a bogey on the 9th.

Hwang displayed strong focus on the back nine.

Starting with a birdie on the 10th hole, she put on a show with three straight birdies from the 12th to 14th holes and added another birdie on the 17th. Although she bogeyed the final 18th hole to wrap up her round, she successfully shaved five strokes on the day.

Hwang earned her LPGA Tour card by winning the Lotte Championship as an invitation-only player in October of last year, and by staying near the top of the leaderboard through the second round of this event, she kept alive her hopes of securing her second career victory.

Kang Minji shaved four strokes to move up to a tie for 12th place at seven-under 137 overall, while world number six Kim Hyo-joo shot a five-under 67 with one eagle, five birdies, and two bogeys, ranking tied for 15th at six-under 138.

Elsewhere, Joo Subin and Chun In-gee sat side by side in a tie for 31st at four-under, while veteran Shin Ji-yai, who struggled on the opening day, jumped to a tie for 40th at three-under 141 after cutting five strokes.

Lee Minyoung and Lee Mi-hyang also tied for 40th at three-under, and Ko Jin-young finished tied for 57th at one-under.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.