Lee Jeong-eun 6 and Ko Jin-young "Tied 2nd, 2 Shots Behind"…Rookie Kastren Leads

Volunteers of America Classic Day 2: 1 Under Par, Jeon Inzi 6th, Kim Hyoju 9th, Kim Seyoung 34th

Lee Jeong-eun 6 reduced one stroke on the second day of the Volunteers of America Classic, positioning herself in a tie for 2nd place, two strokes behind the leader.

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Lee Jeong-eun6 (25, Daebang Construction) is on a smooth sailing.

On the 3rd (Korean time) at The Colony Old American Golf Club (par 71, 6,475 yards) in Texas, USA, during the second day of the LPGA Tour Volunteers of America (VOA) Classic (total prize money $1.5 million), she added 1 under par to maintain a tie for 2nd place (8 under par 134 strokes). The previous day’s leader, ‘Number 2’ Ko Jin-young (26), scored even par over 4 holes and is in the same group. Rookie Matilda Castren (Finland) surged to the lead (10 under par 132 strokes).

The day’s play was disrupted due to bad weather. Out of 137 players, more than half, 71 players, could not finish the second round. Lee Jeong-eun6 started tied for 2nd place, 1 stroke behind, and recorded 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. She lost the stroke gained from a birdie on the first hole, the 10th hole (par 4), with a bogey on the 16th hole (par 3), so she did not reduce her score in the front nine. In the back nine, after a birdie on the 2nd hole (par 5), she made a bogey on the 5th hole (par 3), but immediately recovered with a birdie on the 6th hole (par 5), showing great resilience.

Her shot accuracy was outstanding, with an average drive of 276 yards, hitting the fairway once, and missing the green only twice. However, 34 putts were a bit disappointing. She is 2 strokes behind the leader, with a chance for her second career win after 2 years and 1 month since winning the major US Women’s Open in June 2019. Castren boasted flawless play with 5 birdies and no bogeys. She is the first Finnish player to win on the LPGA Tour, having won the Mediheal Championship last month.

Among Koreans, Ko Jin-young lost a birdie on the 1st hole (par 4) with a bogey on the 3rd hole (par 3), and the game was suspended due to sunset after the 4th hole (par 4). Jeon In-ji (27, KB Financial Group) is tied for 6th place (6 under par 136 strokes), and Kim Hyo-joo (26, Lotte) is tied for 9th place (5 under par 137 strokes). Kim Se-young (28, Mediheal) reduced 1 stroke over 4 holes and is tied for 34th place (2 under par). Park Sung-hyun (28) scored 4 under par to rise to a tie for 43rd place (1 under par 141 strokes). Defending champion Angela Stanford (USA) is tied for 34th place.