The Tribune

SUN Young Yoo, of South Korea, battled strong winds to card an impressive round of 69 today with no dropped shots to forge a one-stroke lead midway through the second round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

With the second round played using preferred lies after heavy showers suspended play on Thursday afternoon, Yoo had four birdies to finish seven under par on 139 at the Ocean Club Course, Paradise Island.

Winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour made scoring tricky, but the softened conditions yielded scoring opportunities, and Yoo was among those who took advantage. “Yeah, it was very tough, especially with the wind,” Yoo said. “I just tried to stay focused and just tried to make the right putt with the wind. Overall, I think I was doing really good the last two rounds, and I still have two rounds to go, so I'm fortunate.” Yoo has not won on the LPGA tour since the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Brittany Lincicome, another former Kraft Nabisco winner, was also at seven under par, but she still has 12 holes left to complete in her second round. Sixty players were still on the course when play was suspended due to darkness at 5.45pm. The second round is scheduled to resume at 8am on Saturday and the third round will begin immediately after with the field cut to the lowest 70 scores and ties.

Four players were at six under par, including Inbee Park, the world No.2, who was still on the course. Park was one under through five holes, leaving her 13 holes to play on Saturday. Jenny Shin and Kelly Shon, an amateur, carded 71s to finish at 140, while Dori Carter shot 71 to join them on six under par.

“It’s tough out there, but if you hit the ball solid you can keep it in play,” said Carter, who powered her way over the inward nine holes in five under par 32 amid some of the windiest conditions in her morning 68. “Today was just all about take what I can get and see what happens. The back nine of my morning round really was just like it couldn't have gone any better. Glad that I got to just keep going and keep playing.”

First-round leader Brooke Pancake is among seven players at five under par after dropping one stroke in seven holes of her second round. Also at five under are Perrine Delacour and Mika Miyazato, who each got into the clubhouse with 70, and Gerina Piller, Sandra Gal and Hee Young Park, all whom have at least 12 holes remaining.

World No.1 Lydia Ko shot 71 and is four strokes back at a three under par total of 143. Defending champion Jessica Korda is one over par after a second round 74.

Raquel Riley, the Bahamian who received one of two exemptions after winning a local qualifier, withdrew after 13 holes yesterday, citing a stomach illness.

Leaderboard

-7 Sun Young Yoo (36 holes), Brittany Lincicome (23)

-6 Dori Carter (36), Jenny Shin (36), Kelly Shon (36), Inbee Park (23)

-5 Perrine Delacour (36), Mika Miyazato (36), Brooke Pancake (25), Gerina Piller (24), Sandra Gal (23), Azahara Munoz (23), Hee Young Park (23)

-4 Mirim Lee (36), Christel Boeljon (25), Ariya Jutanugarn (23), Sei Young Kim (22)

-3 Simin Feng (36), Lydia Ko (36), Caroline Masson (36), Ji-Young Oh (26), Kyu-Jung Baek (25), Natalie Gulbis (23)