Choi Hye-jin maintained her second-place position on the second day of the LPGA Tour's ISPS Handa Portland Classic (total purse of $2 million), fueling expectations for her first victory.

Playing the second round of the tournament today (the 15th, KST) at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club (par 72) in Portland, Oregon, Choi shot a 5-under 67 with one eagle and three birdies, bogey-free.

Having placed tied for second with 6-under in the first round, Choi finished the second round with a total of 11-under 133, retaining her tied-for-second spot.

She is one stroke behind Arpichaya Yubol of Thailand, who vaulted into sole possession of the lead at 12-under 132.

Choi, who has yet to win on the LPGA Tour since her debut in 2022, continued her chase for the title by putting up a strong performance, recording only a single bogey across the first two days of the tournament.

Starting her round from the 1st hole, Choi reeled off consecutive birdies on the 5th (par 5) and 6th (par 4) holes, followed by an eagle after a flawless two-on at the 7th (par 5), pulling off the remarkable feat of shaving 4 strokes across just three holes.

After adding another birdie on the 12th hole (par 5), Choi successfully parred the remaining holes without a single bogey.

Though her putts increased by two from the previous day to 30, Choi targeted victory with sharp shots, missing the fairway only once and the green just twice.

Choi reflected, "I am glad I achieved a bogey-free round, which was part of my goal. I felt like I was adapting to the course and getting a better feel for it compared to yesterday," adding, "Today was more satisfying than yesterday."

She expressed her determination, saying, "The opportunity [for my first LPGA Tour win] has come around again. Since there are still two days left, it would be helpful to approach it with the mindset of starting fresh from day one. Having gained a lot of experience now, I hope to use that experience to finish this tournament with an even more satisfying result."

Yubol, who swept the women's individual and team gold medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, shaved 6 strokes for the second consecutive day to throw her hat in the ring for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Competing on the LPGA Tour since 2023, she has finished as the runner-up twice this season.

Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand and Sophia Schubert of the U.S. joined Choi in a tie for second place, while Yu Ha-ran, the world number three who captured two major titles this season, shaved 4 strokes on this day to tie for fifth place (9-under 135) alongside world number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand.

Choi Chein, Ahn Na-rin, and Joo Su-bin tied for 17th (7-under 137), and Jeon Ji-won tied for 27th (6-under 138).

Rookie Hwang Yu-min barely made the cut at a total of 4-under 140, tied for 48th.

Last year's tournament champion Akie Iwai of Japan missed the cut, finishing tied for 96th at even-par 144.

(Photo: Getty Images)