Lydia Ko and Hyo Joo Kim are tied at the top of the leaderboard at 8-under par and will be paired together tomorrow at the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I.

Ko, the 2014 Marathon Classic champion, turned in a second round 66 with just one bogey in the morning wave on Friday. She was just one stroke off of her career low score at Highland Meadows playing in what she called the windiest conditions she has seen to date at this tournament.

“I think I had few more looks for birdies and a few that decided to drop,” Ko said. “Even today I had a few that were so close to going in and didn't drop. I felt like I did leave a few out there. In this wind and in the conditions I feel like my score is a pretty solid one this morning.”

Kim shot a 3-under 68 on the day after her 21st birthday to keep the share of the lead she held after the first round of play. Her birthday celebration was short-lived as she had to wake up for her 8:32am second round tee time.

“Definitely feeling yesterday was way better,” said Kim. “Still today I played great, so I feel good.”

Sitting one back of the leaders are American Alison Lee and South Korea’s Ha Na Jang. Jang, who was beaten on the first playoff hole here last year by Chella Choi, is attempting to join Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn as the only players on Tour with three wins in 2016.

“I think just be patient every hole, just fairway and the greens,” Jang described of her approach to this course. “Because this golf course really small green. Just target is middle of the green, so it's really good playing.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, Mirim Lee and Lee Lopez are two shots behind the leaders at 6-under par, and a group of five players are tied at -5 including Toledo’s own Stacy Lewis.

LYDIA KO - #1 STATISTICAL CATEGORIES

Race to CME Globe - 3,475 pts.
Official Money - $2,030,376
ROLEX Player of the Year - 207 pts.
Top 10 Finishes - 10/14 (71%)
Scoring Average - 69.22
Rounds Under Par - 45
Rounds in the 60s - 31
Putting Average - 28.55 per round
Putts per GIR - 1.72

FACETIME

Lee Lopez told reporters Friday that she was able to visit with her coach Bob Lasken in-person last week for the first time in about two months. The rookie is spending her ninth consecutive week competing on the LPGA Tour and said she keeps in touch and sends Lasken videos to analyze on nearly a daily basis.

“I would've definitely flown over to California and seen him,” said Lopez. “It's been a long stretch, and as a rookie you don't have the luxury of choosing. You would rather just play in every event. Plus, I haven't seen these courses before. I want to see which ones I like. It's been fun. It's hard to choose which ones not to play in, so I've just decided to do all of them.”

Lopez will look to add another strong result this week as she has finished in the top-17 in her two previous starts (T6, Cambia Portland Classic; T17, U.S. Women’s Open). She is one of 10 players from UCLA in the Marathon Classic Field and will be joined over the weekend by fellow Bruins Alison Lee (T3, -7), Mo Martin (T30, -1), Jane Park (T43, E) and Sydnee Michaels (T55, +1).

“It's exciting,” Lopez said. “I think it says a lot about our program and our coaches and what they do to prepare us for the next level."

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

For Alison Lee, carding a 5-under, 66 on Friday and placing T3 through two rounds at the Marathon Classic serves as a major confidence booster. In February, Lee found out she had a torn labrum in her left shoulder and attempted to play through the injury.

Facing mental and physical hurdles has proved challenging for the young American. Lee has made only 7-of-15 cuts in 2016 but feels like she is starting to find her mojo again on Tour.

“For the past four months, I was injured and I struggled mentally,” Lee said. “I missed a lot of cuts and I had a lot of high hopes for myself this year. So definitely that really set me back the last few months. It feels great now again to be in contention and playing well.”

On Friday, Lee carded only one bogey on 13 and had consecutive birdies on her final three holes to end her round just one spot off current leaders Hyo Joo Kim and Lydia Ko. When asked about her resilience, Lee said that she hopes that this week will show how hard she has been working to be back in contention.

“In the year we play more than 20 tournaments, like week after week, and we can’t let something like that get into our head too much,” Lee said. “We have to try and balance that for the next week and do well. I definitely struggled with that. I feel like it’s coming around, and I’m doing my best to keep my head up. I feel like this week definitely shows how hard I’ve been working and trying to get back from that place.”

LEWIS MOVING UP THE LEADERBOARD

Stacy Lewis carded a 3-under 68 on Friday to jump eight spots from T16 to T8 and just three shots back of the lead. The No. 9 player in the world is looking to break into the winner’s circle for the first time since the 2014 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

“I feel like I’ve played a really solid round,” Lewis said. “I feel like the game is where it needs to be. I had four putts today I thought I made, especially early on. The game is where it needs to be. If I can just get a few more putts to fall it will be there.”

The Toledo native is no stranger to the Highlands Meadow Golf Club. In the past four years, Lewis has placed 25th or better with one top-10 finish. Lewis said that she has lost count of the amount of times she has played at Highlands Meadow Golf Club but has never been able to break through here.

“There are just golf courses that fit you better than others, Lewis said. “I wouldn’t say that this is a golf course that this necessarily fits my eye for some reason, and I don’t know what it is. I couldn’t pinpoint one thing. There are just definitely golf courses you play better on and some you don’t.”

QUOTABLE

“You know, sometimes there is self-pressure if you keep continuing to put yourself in good positions. I feel like, yeah, I probably did put some self-pressure, but it’s part of the learning process. I needed to know that, Hey, even though you might be in the opportunities, sometimes you’re going to be holding the trophy at the end of the week and sometimes you’re not."

-Lydia Ko on putting pressure on herself

OF NOTE

Alison Lee has eight rounds in the 60s in 2016, with two of those rounds coming this week (69, 66).
Through 20 events, South Korea leads the LPGA with the most wins by country in 2016 at 6. New Zealand (3, all by Lydia Ko) and Thailand (3, all by Ariya Jutanugarn) are tied for second.
The last time two Americans won in back-to-back tournaments was in 2015 (Jessica Korda, Sime Derby LPGA Malaysia, 10-11-2015; Lexi Thompson, LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship, 10-18-2015).

Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I RD 2 Notes

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