LPGA Tour: A Glue Kim still leads, but Nelly Korda is hunting at Tournament of Champions | Golf news

On By Littum

A glue Kim from South Korea will take a three-shot lead in the weekend after sending a three-under-pair 69 in the second round of the Tournament of Champions on Friday in Orlando.

Kim led four after the first round and moved to 10 under the halfway mark at LPGA’s seasonal opener. Linn Grant from Sweden shot a 67 at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and is now on seven under, while World No 1 Nelly Korda also shot 67 to take part in a tie for third at Six under.

Tied with Korda is Japan’s Rio Takeda and Ireland Leona Maguire, each of whom sent 68 on Friday.

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Kim, 29, mapped seven birdies without a bogey in the first round, but was on a more adventure on Friday and combined six birdies with three bogeys.

“Still good,” Kim said. “Different (than Thursday) the wind was a different direction but still fun.”

Kim won the US Women’s Open 2020 and then went Winless on the LPGA Tour until last November when she broke through to win the Lotte Championship.

Grant closed her round with an eagle at the ninth hole. “I hit a four-hybrid in the green from like 220 yards,” she said. “Then I just had a 12-foot and it went in.”

Grant, 25, will be in the mixture this weekend. Her only LPGA victory came on the Dana Open 2023, but she is a six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour.

Korda, 26, made his only bogey of the day on his fourth hole, couple-three 13th, to fall to even pairs for the tournament. She rebound with consecutive birdies at. 14 and 15, added one on the 18th and knocked in three more upcoming homes.

Nelly Korda Tees Off on the eight hole during the first round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions LPGA Golf Tournament in Orlando, Fla., Thursday 30 January 2025. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)
Picture:
World No. 1 Nelly Korda enjoyed a strong second day in Florida and moved to within four shots of the lead

“I just activated a little more, made some more putts, hit a few more solid shots,” Korda said. “(The course is) certainly plays a little softer and longer compared to previous years.”

Korda was a seven-time winner last season and aims to start 2025 in a similar winning way.

Maguire, 30, had a double bogey on par-three13th, but more than compensated for it by birdie her last five holes on the day.

“It’s my home course, so I know these holes pretty well,” she said. “I know I can bird them all, so just a case of trying to give myself chances. Hit some really lovely iron shots and didn’t leave me very far for birdie.”

South Korea’s Jin Young Ko (70) is alone on the sixth of five below. Defense Master and World No. 2 Lydia Ko from New Zealand posted a 67 to get to four under the tournament in a draw for seventh with Lauren Coughlin (68).