KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Hye-Jin Choi scored a birdie after missing a 20-foot Eagle Putt on the 18th hole, giving her a 6-under 66 on Friday and a five-stroke lead after two rounds of the LPGA Tour’s Maybank Championship.
Choi, who played on the South Korean team in the International Crown last week, had a 36-hole total of 14-under 130 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country’s club course. She started the day with a one-stroke lead and it was the first time in her career that she led after the first two rounds.
The 26-year-old Choi is winless on the LPGA Tour but has 28 career top-10 finishes. She came second at the 2017 US Women’s Open as a 17-year-old amateur.
Choi tried to stay positive despite a bogey on her first hole.
“I tried to keep the confidence and play steady,” Choi said. “So I made a lot of birdies today and my shots and putting were all good.”
Defending champion Ruoning Yin shot 67 points and moved up 19 places to second. She was tied with Hannah Green, a member of the winning Australian team at the International Crown last weekend, who shot 69 on Friday.
Green said she enjoys playing in Malaysia, which is just a six-hour flight from her home in Perth, Western Australia.
“It’s almost like my home event,” Green said. “I also call this a home event.”
New Zealander Lydia Ko, playing in a composite world lineup at the team event in South Korea, had a 70 in the second round and was tied for fourth in a group, six strokes behind Choi.
“I was pretty tired coming into this week,” Ko said. “I just tried to stay cool and keep my energy levels up.”
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul shot 70 shots and was eight shots off the lead. Brooke Henderson had a second consecutive 70 and was 10 strokes behind Choi.
Thitikul, the only multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this year after winning the Mizuho Americas Open in May and nearly three weeks ago in Shanghai, has finished second the last two times she has played in Malaysia.
Next week the LPGA concludes its five-week Asian swing with the Japan Classic in Shiga.
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