Ko, the 2024 tournament winner and Hilton Grand Vacations ambassador, is the only player among the 39 women without a bogey after two days. The Hall of Famer has 23 wins on the LPGA Tour.
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“I’ve had to hole some good par putts, but I haven’t really put myself in that many difficult positions so far,” said Ko, of New Zealand. “I think that’s why I had both rounds bogey-free. I hope to continue that good momentum this weekend.”
Woad shot a 69 to tie Ko at 8-under 136 in mostly sunny conditions with a 12 mph wind at most in the 70-degree afternoon.
“I looked at the leaderboard a lot today because it was bothering me,” Woad said. “It seemed like there weren’t as many low scores, so I knew I was still in it. The bowling was probably a little tougher, so there weren’t as many birdies as there were yesterday.”
The 22-year-old English player won the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open last year, weeks after winning the KPMG Women’s Irish Open as an amateur on the Ladies European Tour.
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Nasa Hataoka, also a member of Lake Nona, was one step away from Amy Yang. Hataoka scored 71 and Yang shot 69.
Defending champion A Lim Kim was 6 under after her second 69. Youmin Hwang (67) and Ingrid Lindblad (69) were also 6 under.
Top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul and Kelly Korda were at 5 under. Thitkul scored 72 and Korda shot 71.
“I think the weather is going to get a little bit worse, so I’m going to go to the putting green, go to the range because I wasn’t hitting my best today,” Korda said. “I’m just going to figure out a few things before the weekend.”
Baseball player Aaron Hicks led the celebrity field.
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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf