NEWS

Lee roars four shots ahead of Morita in second round of Mizuno Classic

By Associated Press
Published on
Lee roars four shots ahead of Morita in second round of Mizuno Classic

SHIMA, Japan -- South Korea's Bo-mee Lee shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead after two rounds of the Mizuno Classic on the LPGA Tour.

Lee, a regular on the Korean Tour, had four birdies on the front nine at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club and added four more after the turn to finish at 10-under 134.

"My drives were good today. I was able to keep them on the fairway which was tough with this wind," Lee said. "If I can keep driving and putting like this I feel good about my chances tomorrow."

Rikako Morita of Japan, who briefly held the lead after an eagle on the par-5 13th, bogeyed three of the final five holes and was in second after a 68. Morita hit a 195-yard second shot to 10 feet and then made the eagle put on 13, but couldn't keep the momentum going when she bogeyed the par-4 14th.

"I hooked my iron on 14 and couldn't recover," Morita said. "The bogeys caused me to fall back a few strokes, but hopefully I can make them back tomorrow."

Angela Stanford of the United States shot a 71 and was tied for third at 4-under 140 with South Korea's Na Yeon Choi, France's Karine Icher and overnight co-leader Ayako Uehara of Japan.

South Korea's Jiyai Shin, who shared the first-round lead, shot a 73 and was tied for eighth at 141 with a group of eight golfers that included defending champion Momoko Ueda of Japan, who shot a 69, American Stacy Lewis and Taiwanese star Yani Tseng, who both shot 70.

South Korea's Inbee Park, who opened the LPGA Tour's Asian Swing with a victory in Malaysia and finished second last week in Taiwan, struggled with the wind and shot a 73 to be tied for 23rd at 143.