CHASKA, Minnesota — Yoon Ina conjured five birdies in a three-under par 69 to push her lead to five strokes in the Women’s PGA Championship, where Nelly Korda was six strokes adrift in her bid for a third straight major title.
Yoon, whose 63 matched the lowest first round in the history of the event, built a 36-hole total of 12-under 132 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, where she’ll take the lead into the weekend in a major championship for the first time.
“It’s actually a really nice experience for me,” the South Korean said according to AFP, adding she’d try to stave off nerves and “focus on my stuff and just have fun” for the next two days.
South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran fired eight birdies in a superb eight-under par 64 to charge into a group of four players sharing second on seven-under 137.
World No 1 Korda, seeking to become just the third LPGA player to win the first three majors of the season after her victories in the Chevron Championship and US Women’s Open, posted a four-under par 68 and was tied on six-under 138 with South Korean Lee Dong-eun, who signed for a 69.
Yoon said she tried not to look at the leaderboard as she opened the round with a two-shot lead. Four birdies in the first eight holes stretched her lead to as many as seven, but she slowed coming in with two bogeys and one birdie.
Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year and a three-time winner on the tour, was delighted with her “amazing” round, which featured four birdies on each side and a dazzling display on the greens, including birdie putts of 23 feet at the third and 18 feet at the fourth.
