World No.1 Nelly Korda edges closer to the top of the leaderboard at Riviera as Grace Kim leads the way for the Australian contingent.
Nelly Korda staged a comeback in the second round of the US Women's Open. Alison Lee seized a share of the lead at the 81st US Women's Open with a second-round 68 in her native Los Angeles area, joining Ruoning Yin at 4-under 138 atop a crowded leaderboard at Riviera.
World No.1 Nelly Korda jumped into the hunt for her first Women's Open title by shooting the day's lowest round at 67, leaving her just two shots back after struggling on Friday . Opening-round leader Jennifer Kupcho, Sei Young Kim and Mexico's Gaby Lopez were in a group of six at 3-under 139, while Korda and three others were at 140.
On a day in which just eight players in the field broke 70, all six Australians in action shot over-par rounds, with Grace Kim's 72 the best as she, Karis Davidson , Hannah Green and Minjee Lee survived the cut that fell at 5-over. The venerable course at this 100-year-old country club is hosting its first US Women's Open, and it remained unforgiving for the world's best.
Only two players managed a bogey-free round, including China's Yin, who semi-jokingly called Riviera "passive aggressive" despite being the only player in the field to shoot two sub-70 rounds so far. Yin carded her second straight 69 in the same city where she earned her first LPGA Tour victory in 2023, a couple of months before she won the Women's PGA Championship. She tied for fourth at last year's US Open at Erin Hills.
Lee played under par for the second straight day at Riviera, highlighted by back-to-back birdies just before the turn. The new mother's first two rounds are an extension of a strong start to the season that includes a third-place finish at the Mizuho Americas Open four weeks ago.
"To win in basically my backyard, where I grew up, would be super cool," Lee said. I don't want to get ahead of myself … but if you'd told me I would be in this spot at the beginning of the week, I probably would have started crying.
" The 31-year-old Lee grew up in suburban Valencia and had a stellar junior career before playing at UCLA and embarking on her pro career. She is a two-time Solheim Cup participant, but she has yet to win on the LPGA Tour while managing just two top-10 finishes at 44 majors.
"I'm not going to lie, it's been very tough," Lee said. "I've gone through a few stages, a few slumps, if you want to call it, in my career, even since I was like 15 years old. … no matter what I did, no matter how much I practised, it just wasn't going my way.
" Lee then took most of last year off for the birth of her son, Levi. While she says her sleep rhythms are regularly interrupted by her 13-month-old these days, her parents and extended family in Valencia have relieved some of the burden during the Open. Levi was in attendance for Friday's round, but Lee's partner only brought him out to watch the 18th hole because the youngster has a tendency to get excited: He yelled "Ball!
" during his mother's backswing at The Chevron Championship earlier this year. "I feel like I've definitely underachieved what I could have done out here on tour," Lee said. "It's definitely been really frustrating. I'm at a point now where I've truly accepted it, but like I said, that's part of why I want to come back and play.
I feel like I was so close so many times.
" Kim was one shot behind Kupcho after the opening round, and she was thrust into the lead early in the second despite shooting 1 over on the front nine. She bogeyed the 18th to drop her share of the lead in one of the day's final groups. APSports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday.
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