Hong Jeong-min Leads 2nd Round with 5 Under Par, 2-Stroke Advantage
Im Hee-jung and Yoo Hae-ran Tied for 2nd, Park Min-ji Tied for 9th
Lee Min-ji and Kim Hyo-joo 'Cut Off', Hong Ran 'Retires'
[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] Hong Jeong-min (20) maintained her lead in the second round of the Hana Financial Group Championship (total prize money 1.5 billion KRW).
Hong Jeong-min is teeing off at the 6th hole during the second round of the Hana Financial Championship. Photo by KLPGA
On the 30th, at the Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon (par 72, 6,745 yards), Hong Jeong-min shot 5-under 67 with six birdies and one bogey in the second round of the KLPGA Tour Hana Financial Group Championship. With a total score of 11-under 133, she continued her lead from the first day of the tournament. She is two strokes ahead of the joint second-place players, Lim Hee-jeong (22) and Yoo Hae-ran (21), who are at 9-under 135.
Hong Jeong-min, who debuted on the KLPGA Tour last year, won her first victory at the Doosan Match Play Championship in May. This is her second career win in four months.
Han Jin-seon (25), who won her first title this year at the DB Group Korea Women's Open, and rookie No. 1 Lee Ye-won (19) are tied for fourth place at 8-under 136. Park Min-ji (24), who has the most wins this season on the KLPGA Tour (4 wins) and is ranked first in prize money, surged to joint ninth place at 6-under 138.
World No. 4 Minjee Lee (Australia) and No. 9 Kim Hyo-joo (27) suffered a blow to their pride as both missed the cut in this tournament. Minjee Lee scored 1-under 71, finishing with a total of 2-over 148, tied for 74th place and was cut off. Kim Hyo-joo remained tied for 82nd with 4-over 148.
Hong Ran (36), who has three career wins on the KLPGA Tour, retired after this tournament. She finished tied for 65th at 1-over 145. Hong Ran said, “Thanks to the guidance of my seniors, I was able to become a professional player, and now I want to play the role of a guide to help juniors go in the right direction.” Hong Ran recorded her three career wins at the Lakeside Ladies Open (2008), S-Oil Champions Invitational (2010), and Brunei Ladies Open (2018).
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