(Reuters) – American Danielle Kang fired a flawless nine-under-par 63 to grab a one-shot halfway lead at Sentosa after a weather-delayed second round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore on Friday.
World number 18 Kang, who finished in a share of 29th after the first round, surged to the top of the leaderboard after draining nine birdies, including three in a row from the 12th.
Surprise overnight leader Elizabeth Szokol was tied for second place, alongside Allisen Corpuz and Kim Hyo-joo, after the world number 153 had an inconsistent round and nearly cancelled out her five birdies with four bogeys.
American world number two Nelly Korda was in a three-way share for fifth after carding 68.
After a difficult opening day with the putter, South Korea’s reigning champion Ko Jin-young shot eight birdies and a bogey to climb up to tied eighth with a seven-under 65, while top-ranked Lydia Ko (69) was in a share of 16th.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Toby Davis)
