Minjee Lee drops back in Singapore

Australian teenager Minjee Lee is four shots off the lead at the halfway mark of the LPGA's Women's Champions tournament in Singapore.

Minjee Lee.

Minjee Lee is four shots off the lead at the LPGA's Women's Champions tournament in Singapore. (AAP)

Minjee Lee birdied her last two holes to salvage her second round and stay in contention at the LPGA's Women's Champions tournament in Singapore.

The Australian teenager, who shared the overnight lead, carded a one-over 73 that included five bogeys on Friday to sit tied for 12th at four-under overall.

Heading into the weekend, Lee is four shots behind co-leaders Ha Na Jang and fellow South Korean Mirim Lee.

The 23-year-old Jang holed a monster eagle putt from off the green on her way to a six-under 66.

"I was very comfortable on the front nine," Jang said. "I talking to myself, 'don't do too much thinking ... just be patient'."

Lee got up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the last and shoot a 67 to join Jang in a two-way tie at the top of a congested leaderboard after a wet and windy day at Sentosa Golf Club.

Thailand's Pornaning Phatlum carded a 67 and Norway's Suzann Petterson signed for a 69 to be equal third, a stroke behind the leading pair, with a group of four players lurking just one shot further behind and a total of 34 players under par.

Taiwanese veteran Candie Kung, who shared the first-round lead with Lee, also finished strongly to remain in contention.

Kung regained her composure and parred her last seven holes after making a disastrous double-bogey on the 11th to shoot a par 72 and remain at five-under.

The defending champion, South Korea's Inbee Park, was at 3-under after dropping three shots on her opening four holes while New Zealand's world No.1 Lydia Ko fell nine shots behind the leaders after a two-over 74 that included a double bogey on her opening hole.

Petterson credited her strong performance in Singapore to a recent practice round with Rickie Fowler in Florida. Both are trained by Butch Harmon and Petterson said the chance to observe Fowler's game from up close had given her renewed confidence.

"I seem to learn a lot from it, so I really enjoyed it," Petterson said. "Rickie played a flawless round of golf, easiest 60 I've ever seen. I think he's going to be red-hot for the Masters."


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world