Portland Classic Day 2: 6-Under Storm Shots, Defending Champ Green 2nd, Choi Woon-jung 9th
[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] Yang Hee-young (31) is aiming for her first win of the season.
On the 20th (Korean time), at the Columbia Edgewater Golf Course (par 72, 6,478 yards) in Portland, Oregon, USA, during the second day of the LPGA Tour Cambia Portland Classic (total prize money $1.75 million), she surged with a 6-under-par round to leap into a tie for 3rd place (9-under-par 135 strokes). She is 3 strokes behind the leader Mel Reid (England, 12-under-par 132 strokes), leaving plenty of room for the championship battle. Defending champion Hannah Green (Australia) is challenging to defend her title from 2nd place (10-under-par 134 strokes).
Yang Hee-young collected 7 birdies (1 bogey). She opened the scoring early with a birdie on the 3rd hole (par 4), and created momentum with three sets of back-to-back birdies on holes 5-6, 9-10, and 14-15. A bogey on the 16th hole (par 3) was the only blemish. She is looking for her 5th career win after 1 year and 7 months since the Honda LPGA Thailand in February last year. She expressed confidence, saying, "Both my shots and putting were good," and "I am looking forward to the final round tomorrow."
For Korea, Choi Woon-jung (30, Volvik) added 4-under-par to stand in 9th place (7-under-par 137 strokes). 'Golf Queen' Park In-bee (32, KB Financial Group) posted 2-under-par rounds for two consecutive days and is tied for 21st place (4-under-par 140 strokes) along with Lee Jeong-eun 5 (32). 'ANA Inspiration Champion' Lee Mi-rim (29, NH Investment & Securities) dropped one stroke to fall to a tie for 56th place (1-under-par 143 strokes). Park Sung-hyun (27) and Jeon In-ji (26, KB Financial Group) were cut off.
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