South Korea' s Kim Hyo-joo put herself in contention for her third Hyundai China Ladies Open crown on Saturday when the World No. 25 carded a three-under 69 to move to the top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of the pack.
With Kim at one-under 143 through 36 holes at Lion Lake Country Club in Guangdong province, overnight leader Feng Shanshan of China stayed close as the World No. 4 shot even-par 72 for a second day to sit equal second in a group with 2013 champion Jang Ha-na (70) and her South Korean compatriots Hong Jin-joo (71), Park Seong-won (69) and Lim Eun-bin (71).
Lee Da-yeon was two strokes off the pace as the 19-year-old South Korean shot a tournament best seven-under 65 in a round that featured nine birdies in the warm but breezy conditions.
The season-ending tournament for the China LPGA Tour is co-sanctioned with the LPGA of South Korea Tour and features a 550,000 U.S dollars prize.
"The wind out there is not as strong as yesterday. It is warmer than I expected. I made three bogeys on par-five holes yesterday. I thought I could have a better score if I made no mistake on those holes. I missed some birdie chances, but I am happy with this bogey-free round," said US LPGA Tour regular Kim, a winner of 14 pro tournaments.
Feng, a winner of three tournaments in her last four starts, including last week in Dubai, struggled to get any momentum going over the Lion Lake Moon Course as the conditions got calmer during her afternoon round. After a bogey five at the eighth hole, the Guangzhou native rebounded for birdies at the 10th and 12th holes, before dropping a shot at the par-three 16th.
"My shots were not so accurate and I had not many birdie chances. But I said I needed to reduce my mistakes. I think I did a great job on this part," said the China No. 1, the bronze medalist at the Rio Olympic Games.
"The leaderboard should be packed, everyone is close, so it doesn' t matter if I was in the final group or not. I will try to adjust my swing next morning and hopefully I can have a great chance."
Lion Lake Country Club is a 27-hole layout designed by Rick Jacobson. The 11th Hyundai China Ladies Open, December 16-18, is being contested over the par-72, 6,333-yard Moon layout.
