In-Kyung Kim
In-Kyung Kim maintained her lead following a 1-over-par 73 on Friday at the Honda LPGA Thailand although the 22-year-old struggled early with bogies at holes two, three, six and nine, turning in 39 thanks to a birdie at the par-3 fourth.
Kim managed three birdies on the back nine with a bogey at 15 to shoot 73 and drop to 8-under-par 136, one shot ahead of Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng (69-68=137, -7) and Michelle Wie (69-68=137, -7).
Kim, who noted that the Thailand heat and humidity may have gotten the best of her on Friday, will tee off in the final group alongside Wie tomorrow afternoon.
A native of South Korea and resident of San Diego, Kim has victories in each of her last three years on Tour, including the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona Light, where she pledged to donate her entire winner’s paycheck to charity.
Star-studded leader board includes Wie, Tseng, Creamer, Inkster and company. Newly crowned Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng leads a cast of characters chasing I.K. Kim for the season-opening title at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Tseng, a back-to-back winner on the Ladies European Tour entering this week, shot 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to move into a tie with Michelle Wie.
The Hawaiian tied the best round of the day (Anna Nordqvist, Karrie Webb) with a 4-under-par 68. LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Juli Inkster is tied with reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion Paula Creamer, Rolex Rankings No. 5 Na Yeon Choi and Japan’s Momoko Ueda at 5-under-par 139.
Defending champion Ai Miyazato shot 3-under-par 69 on Friday to move into a tie for 25th at even-par 144.
For the second consecutive day, preferred lies were in place due to soggy conditions following an early week rainstorm.
LPGA member Pornanong Phatlum leads all Thai players at 4-under-par 140… Friday’s scoring average (72.366) was nearly identical to Thursday (72.365)
Michelle Wie, who is seeking her third LPGA win, has never won in the United States.
Karen Stupples of England slipped to eighteenth place on Friday following a round of 73.
