Ina Yoon of South Korea shot a 3-under-par 69 on Friday and watched her lead at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship balloon to five strokes at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
Yoon entered the second round with a two-shot lead on Australia’s Karis Davidson after opening with a 63. But Davidson struggled to a second-round 74 and other players who were in the top 10 also faltered, creating a chasm between Yoon (12-under 132) and the field at the halfway mark.
Yoon’s countrywoman Haeran Ryu shot an 8-under 64 — the round of the day by a whopping three shots — and climbed into a tie for second at 7 under. She’s joined there by Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson (68), A Lim Kim of South Korea (70) and Nasa Hataoka of Japan (67).
One stroke behind that group sits World No. 1 Nelly Korda, aiming to become the third woman to win the first three majors of the season after her triumphs at the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open. Korda posted 68 Friday and is tied at 6 under with South Korea’s Dongeun Lee (69).
But they’re all looking up at Yoon, 23, who has yet to win on the LPGA Tour after joining last year.
“This is actually my first time being lead going into the weekend,” Yoon said. “It’s actually really nice experience for me. I’m so excited to play last two more days.”
Yoon reached 13 under for the tournament quickly by birdieing Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 8. She played the back nine of her round in 1 over par, but she was still left with a comfortable cushion as no one came close to her on the leaderboard.
“The remaining two days will obviously be nerve-wracking, but being nervous is human nature, and I think I want to embrace that and focus on what I can in my shots,” Yoon said.
Ryu kept a bogey-free card and made her eight birdies in one 11-hole stretch. After starting her round on the back nine, she got going with birdies at Nos. 14, 16, 17 and 18. Her four birdies coming in included a 13 1/2-foot putt at the second, a 23-footer at the third and an 18 1/2-footer at the par-3 fourth.
“Yesterday I tried to change my putter because it’s — sometimes I miss a short putt my old putter,” said Ryu, who has won three times on the LPGA Tour. “That’s why I try to change it; it’s still bad.
“Today I used same putter as Kroger Championship a month ago, so I felt it’s so great and I can make a lot of birdies today.”
Henderson is 10 years removed from winning the first of her two majors at the Women’s PGA. She finds herself in the mix after ending her round with three straight birdies at Nos. 7-9.
“Nice to get three to finish. That really makes the round feel whole lot better,” said Henderson, who’s won just one tournament since January 2023. “It’s fun to see my name on the leaderboard again and so hopefully have a good weekend. Really looking forward to it.”
As for Korda, she also began her day on the back nine and made a promising early move with four birdies from Nos. 10-18. Her lone bogey came at No. 1, and after getting the stroke back with a birdie at the par-5 third, she could only make pars the rest of the way.
“The front nine was great, shot 4 under, and then had a case of the hooks on a few of my tee shots on the back nine,” she said. “Figured it out going down the stretch, so pleased with my day.”
The cut line fell at 1 over par. Defending champion Minjee Lee of Australia, England’s Charley Hull and Australian Hannah Green — the winner in 2019 when the major was last held at Hazeltine — all missed the cut by one shot.
