Thai champ surges as Aussie ace stays in $6 million mix
Darren Walton |
Minjee Lee has climbed the leaderboard to remain in the mix for the biggest cheque in women’s golf’s history.
Lee’s second-round five-under-par 67 vaulted Australia’s world No.4 into a tie for fifth at the halfway point of the $US11 million ($A17 million) Tour Championship in Florida.
That is the good news.
The bad news is world No.1 and defending champion Jeeno Thitikul fired a dazzling nine-under 63 to seize a commanding three-shot lead over South Korean Sei Young Kim, with Lee five strokes off the pace.
Thitikul has made the Tubiron Golf Club in Naples her personal playground, romping around the course in 64 under par over the past four years.
The 22-year-old Thai phenom won last year’s Tour Championship with a 22-under total and remains on track to eclipse that score in 2025.
Surging to 14 under, Thitikul was bogey free on Friday (Saturday AEST) to go from three behind first-round leader Somi Lee to three in front ahead of what shapes as a weekend shootout between the world’s premier players.
Kim, the 2019 winner, is once again in the mix for a second season-ending championship after moving to 11 under with a second-round 66.
South Korean’s Lee (69) and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (67) share third a further shot back at 10 under.
On a star-studded leaderboard, Australia’s Lee is tied at nine under with world No.2 Nelly Korda (64), Canadian Brooke Henderson (67) and Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn (67).
Lee was only one shot back after negotiating the front nine in four under, but could only manage one more birdie on the back in an otherwise blemish-free round.
“I had a pretty nice start,” the triple major winner said.
“Four birdies on the front and then one birdie on the back. But I feel like I’m going pretty steady out there. For the most part it was pretty solid.
“Just going to try and clean up my shots a little bit and hope for a really great weekend.”
After racking up seven tournament victories in a spectacular 2024 campaign, Korda is surprisingly winless this year.
After a lacklustre opening 71, the American needed something special to move into contention.
Korda delivered with an eight-under second round to briefly claim the clubhouse lead.
“Yesterday I thought I hit it well off the tee into the greens. I just saw a lot of burned edges and kind of lip-outs versus today,” she said.
“I hit it very similar off the tee and into the greens and the putts were just kind of rolling in more than yesterday.”
Two hours later, though, Thitikil took charge in pursuit of back-to-back titles and successive $US4 ($A6.2 million) pay days.
“Better than yesterday for sure,” Thitikul said, promising no let-up.
“Still have no complaint with a bogey-free and then nine birdies, so I’ll take it.
“As I always say, all the winners here, the score is always like, 20-something (under).
“So we have nothing. We just need to make more and more and more (birdies).”
Lee looks like Australia’s only weekend contender after Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou both fell off the pace with even-par 72s.
Kim and Kyriacou both started round two tied with Lee in seventh spot at four under, but have slumped to joint 27th.
At three over following a second-round 71, fellow Australian Hannah Green remains dead last in the 60-player field.
AAP
