Minjee Lee shrugged off a sluggish opening day to surge into contention at the Hana Financial Group Championship on Friday, firing a second round four-under-par 68 to head into the weekend one shot back of Park Hyejun, who leads with her two-day total of five-under-par 139.
Related: Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee three shots off the pace
The World No. 4, who admitted she was still battling jet lag during her first round 72, looked refreshed after a proper night’s rest. Lee, an 11-time LPGA winner and three-time major champion, produced a polished display, mixing her card with seven birdies against three bogeys to vault up the leaderboard.
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“Yesterday the course didn’t really allow me to be aggressive, but today the pin positions were better, the wind wasn’t as strong, and I was able to attack more,” said Lee. “I hit it closer, especially on the back nine, and that gave me more birdie opportunities.”
Lee, who is sponsored by Hana Bank, also acknowledged how special it would be to triumph at her sponsor’s marquee event.
“As a Hana Bank player, of course, it would mean a lot to win this tournament. But there’s still a lot of golf left, and with so many strong KLPGA players in the field, I’ll need to keep playing my very best to get over the line.”
Park, meanwhile, took the outright lead after trading four birdies against two bogeys for a 70 at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon. The 22-year-old is chasing her second win on the KLPGA following her breakthrough at the LOTTE Open in July this year.
