Im Hyang Lee, 30, and Jeong Jung Lee, 34, used the second round of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational ($2.7 million purse) as a springboard to the top of the leaderboard on the U.S. Women’s Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour.
Im and Lee shot a combined 7-under 63 on the second day of play at the par-70 Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan, USA.
With a combined score of 8-under-par 132, Im and Lee are tied for 10th place, six strokes behind leaders Paula Leto (South Africa) and Amelia Lewis (USA) at 14-under-par.
The tournament is played in teams of two, with foursomes alternating one ball for rounds 1-3 and four-ball matches for rounds 2-4, with the better of the two scores counting as the team score.
The results don’t count towards the world rankings, but the winner is guaranteed a two-year tour card, so it’s an opportunity for players with unstable status.
Im has won two tournaments, the 2014 Mizuno Classic and the 2017 Scottish Women’s Open, but her lack of success in recent years has put her in a precarious position as her LPGA Tour status is on the back burner.
Lee, who has yet to win in her nine years on the LPGA Tour, 먹튀검증 is also in desperate need of a top-10 finish here as she only has a conditional LPGA Tour card.
Rookie Hae-ran Hae and second-year player Ye-eun Hong, who were tied for 11th on the first day and looking to break into the top 10, dropped five strokes on the day but slipped to a tie for 13th (7-under 133).
Joo Soo-bin, paired with compatriot Noe Lim (USA), also enters the third round tied for 13th.
Leto, who won her first CP Women’s Open title last year, and Lewis, who is yet to win a tournament, both dropped nine strokes on the day to take the lead, while first-round leaders Matilda Kastren (FIN) and Kelly Tan (MAL) slipped to a one-stroke tie for second (13-under 127) after shooting 7-under par.
Jodie Ewart Shadoff (GBR)-Emma Tally (USA) shot a 10-under 69 to move into a tie for second place.