Rookie Yuka Saso turned in a two-under 70 despite a final-hole mishap to stay two shots off new leader halfway through the Japan LPGA Championship at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama on Friday.
Korean Hee Kyung Bae grabbed the lead after firing a 67, her 136 total putting her two strokes ahead of Saso and four others as erstwhile joint leaders Min-Young Lee and Serena Aoki struggled in tough conditions.
Ayako Kimura actually grabbed the lead at 9-under overall with a birdie on No. 12 but bogeyed three of the next four holes.
Worse, she flubbed a four-foot birdie bid on the 18th for a 71to tie Saso, Rieru Shibusawa (66), Sayaka Takahashi (68) and Yuna Nishimura (68) while 2015 champion Teresa Lu matched par 72 for a 139 in a tie with Hikari Tanabe (70), Momo Yoshikawa (68), Saki Nagamine (70) and last week’s Golf5 Ladies winner Sakura Koiwai (71).
Bae, who hit just two fairways, gunned down three birdies in the last five holes in a backside start.
Like in the first round, the ICTSI-backed Saso bogeyed the 18th to slip a number of rungs lower from joint fifth.
The two-time Philippine Ladies Open titlist highlighted her round with three-birdie binge from No. 4, matching her first round feat (Nos. 6-8). She bogeyed her final hole after her eight-foot par putt veered to the left of the hole.
