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NAPLES, Fla. – Sei Young Kim didn’t light it up in the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship like she did in the first round.
But at the end of the day Friday, the spotlight was still shining on the South Korean at the top.
One day after shooting a 7-under 65 at Tiburón Golf Club, Kim dropped out of the lead, but came back with three birdies in her last six holes and remained up by two going into the weekend.
“I shot pretty solid round today,” Kim said. “My shots and putting wasn’t anything bad today. I think I had a lot of chances for birdie today but I couldn’t make a couple.”
Kim punctuated her round by sticking a 6-iron to a foot on No. 18 to get that two-shot cushion over Germany’s Caroline Masson at 12-under 132. She got a pep talk from Cristie Kerr, who was working as a guest on-course analyst for the Golf Channel. After missing a birdie putt on No. 17, Kerr told her dinner would taste better if she had a good finish.
“I just said ‘Yeah I’m going to make the birdie,'” Kim said. “It came true.”
Masson had her own memorable finish, making a long downhill putt from just off the green for birdie. Masson had a 4-iron coming in that went long.
“Just went over the green just a little bit, which it’s not awful but it’s not easy coming through the fringe which is very grainy and downhill after that,” Masson said. “To be honest, I hit it a little bit hard. It was tracking, though. It was on line and hit the pin and went in.
“Just the little luck that you need sometimes, and I feel like I earned that this week giving myself chances, and once in a while you make one of these, and it really feels really good.”
The touted global tour is in evidence on the leaderboard with nine countries represented in the top 14 (which goes through 6 under). Five are Americans, and only two are South Koreans.
Saturday’s third round will be live on Golf Channel digital from 1 to 4 p.m., and on TV from 4 to 7 p.m. tape delayed.
Nelly Korda was feeling good after taking the lead with a 5-under front nine, but she stumbled, shooting 1 under on the back to finish at 9 under and is three behind. She fell into a tie for third with Canada’s Brooke Henderson.
“Definitely hit the brakes on the back,” Korda said. “Started missing my shots a little.”
Henderson, a Miromar Lakes resident, did just the opposite of Korda, draining a long birdie putt on No. 12 to kickstart a finish that featured five birdies in her last seven holes.
“I wasn’t hitting it that great, but then on the back nine I made a long putt on 12 and that really started to get things rolling, and I had a great crowd out there today, as well, which is always really fun,” Henderson said. “I started to make some birdies there, and it just seemed like I could make everything. So the last like six holes were really fun.”
Su Oh of Australia also jumped up the leaderboard and is in fifth at 8 under, one ahead of defending champion Lexi Thompson and Nelly Korda’s sister, Jessica, and China’s Yu Liu.
Jin Young Ko, who already has wrapped up the Player of the Year and No. 1 ranking, still is well back at 4 under, but remains in position to win the Vare Trophy for season-long stroke average.
The increase in the prize money – combining the $1 million Race to the CME Globe that existed previously with the $500,000 first-place check – and the doubling of the purse to $5 million has had the desired effect.
“It definitely feels like a U.S. Open or British Open,” Kim said. “It feels like a major tournament.”
With a major leaderboard going into the weekend.
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