Saso slips; Ko soars
She missed just two fairways but reached regulation only 12 times. She continued to grope for her putting touch, ending up with 30 putts after a 31 Thursday.
Yuka Saso had a roller-coaster round of one-over par 73 as world No. 1 Jin Young Ko gained a piece of the lead with a sparkling 67 in the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa’s Tanjong course in Singapore Friday.
Ko, making her first LPGA Tour start in the season, opened with a birdie on No. 1 and added back-to-back birdies from Nos. 7 and 16 to move into a tie for first with unheralded compatriot Amy Yang on 136.
Yang matched Ko’s output, highlighting her round with seven birdies against two bogeys.
The Korean pair grabbed a one-stroke lead over Canadian Brooke Henderson, Megan Khang of the United States and young Thai star Atthaya Thitikul.
Saso, the 20-year-old Filipino-Japanese, could not take advantage of an early tee time.
Starting at the back, she birdied 13 but struggled the rest of the way, fumbling with four bogeys against two birdies.
From joint 29th, the ICTSI-backed Saso tumbled to tied 43rd at 144, now eight strokes behind the Koreans.
She missed just two fairways but reached regulation only 12 times. She continued to grope for her putting touch, ending up with 30 putts after a 31 Thursday.
Henderson bucked the heat in a late start and shot a 68, forcing a three-way tie for third on 137.
Khang, on the other hand, anchored her bid with a backside 33, also for a four-under card.
In a brief stretch, Thitikul hogged the spotlight with four birdies in the first six holes to move to seven-under.
She caught up Yang on eight-under with a birdie on No. 12 but bogeyed two of the next three then birdied the par-5 16th to save a 68.
The talented Thai, toughened up in the Ladies European Tour, placed third in last year’s LPGA Q-Series before finishing tied for 11th and joint 45th in the first two legs of this year’s LPGA season in Florida.
Meanwhile, four others pooled 138s, including Korean In Gee Chun (68), Thai Pajaree Anannarukarn (69), American Angel Yin (69) and A Lim Kim of Korea (70), while Inbee Paerk and Danielle Kang stood at 139 after a pair of 71s.
First-day leader Patty Tavatanakit, on the other hand, proved out of sync coming off a solid 67 Thursday.
The Thai major winner hit three birdies against five bogeys in tough conditions in the afternoon to end up with a 74. She fell to tied 21st at 141, now five shots off the new joint leaders.