Former world ranking No. 1 Jinyoung Ko (28) jumped to the joint lead in the second round of the Cognitive Founders Cup (total prize money of $3 million) on the LPGA Tour.

In the second round of the tournament held at the Upper Monclair Country Club (par 72) in Clifton, New Jersey, USA on the 13th (Korean time), Ko Jin-young caught 4 birdies without bogey and hit 4 under par 68.

Jinyoung Ko, who recorded a total of 8 under par 136 strokes until the second round, tied for the lead with Sarah Kemp (Australia). It moved up three spots from the previous day’s tie for fourth place. It is one stroke away from Yoo Hae-ran (22), Lee Min-ji (Australia), and Aditi Ashok (India), who tied for third place.

After winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship in March, Ko Jin-young, who has been on a forced march for 4 weeks in a row since the major tournament Chevron Championship, has the experience of winning twice in this competition (2019 and 2021).

Ko Jin-young only missed the fairway once that day, and the green hit rate was also excellent at 83.33% (15/18). The number of putts was 30.

Ko Jin-young, who continued the boring par march until the 8th hole, reported the first birdie of the 2nd round with a 2m birdie at the 9th hole (par 5). On the 11th hole (par 4), she made a birdie that almost turned into a shot eagle. In the 12th hole (par 5), she went to the green in two turns and then added a birdie with two putts.

Ko Jin-young also put her second shot close to the pin on the last 18th hole (par 4) and finished the game with a 1.5m birdie.

Yoo Hae-ran also kept the lead two days in a row. Hae-Ran Yoo took an upward trend by catching 1 eagle and 3 birdies until the 12th hole. However, in the last hole from 16th to 18th hole, he only reduced 2 strokes as he committed 3 holes in a row.

Yoo Hae-ran participated in five competitions this season and recorded two top-10 finishes. Two weeks ago, at the JM Eagle LA Championships, he tied for 6th, the best result of the year.

Choi Hye-jin (24) also reduced one stroke to rank in a tie for 7th place (5 under par, 139 strokes), and three Korean players made it to the top 10.안전놀이터

Kim Se-young (30), who took the lead alone in the first round, lost 4 strokes and fell to a tie for 29th place (2 under par 142 strokes).

World No. 1 Nellie Corda (USA) missed the cut with a 2-over par of 146 and a tie for 67. World No. 2 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) tied for 38th with a 1-under 143 strokes.