Koreans golfers fall off halfway through final LPGA major

Korean players are well off the pace at the halfway point of the final LPGA major of the season.

Kim Sei-young and Kim A-lim are the top Koreans through 36 holes at the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales, at three-under par, after the former shot a 70 and the latter carded a 71 in the second round Friday.

They are tied for seventh place but sit eight strokes back of the leader, Miyu Yamashita of Japan, who pulled away from the field with a bogey-free 65 on Friday.

Another Japanese player, Rio Takeda, is alone in second place at eight-under, followed by four players at four-under.

Kim Sei-young, a 12-time LPGA winner with one major title, had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine but two birdies, one bogey and one double bogey over her final nine holes.

She came into this tournament having recorded three top-10 finishes in her past five starts.

“I played quite solid today because I made a lot of pars,” Kim said. “But on some holes, I made the same mistakes as yesterday and put my tee shots into bunkers.”

With Yamashita so far ahead of her, Kim said: “What I can do is to just focus on every shot. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. I just want really strong focus on my pace.”

Kim A-lim, a former U.S. Women's Open champion, had four birdies and three bogeys.

An Narin, at one-under, is the only other Korean player with an under-par score through 36 holes.

Two Korean players who had been tied for fourth place after the first round, Chun In-gee and Yoon Ina, both struggled mightily in the second round.

Chun, a three-time major champion, shot a 76 with four birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys, dropping her down to a tie for 35th at one-over for the tournament.

Yoon, the 2025 tour rookie, missed the cut at five-over. She shot an 80 with six bogeys and one double bogey.

Yonhap