Republic of Korea native Hyo Joo Kim climbed into a share of second on Friday at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, recording a 1-under 71 to sit two back of the lead at 5-under. Starting on the 10th hole, Kim got off to a cold start with a bogey, but bounced back quickly, making birdie on the par-3 12th hole to get back to 4-under. She grabbed a pair of birdies on No. 16 and No. 18 to move to 6-under and turn in 34, then made another birdie on the first hole to tie the lead at 7-under.
Back-to-back bogeys on holes 8 and 9 dropped Kim to 5-under and she’ll head into the weekend tied with Allisen Corpuz, two behind 36-hole leader Bailey Tardy. The 27-year-old wasn’t too bothered with her rocky finish, and as a major champion, she knows better than most that crazy things can happen in a championship setting, even more of a probability at a place like Pebble Beach.
“Day two, round two is over for me. Of course, I have some regrets, but what can I do? It's over, right? I'm still on the leaderboard, so I'll just continue to work very hard and I have a chance to be a champion,” said Kim, winner of the 2014 Amundi Evian Championship. “I started well, like yesterday. I was feeling well and satisfied. Not as well as yesterday, but I did not make major mistakes. Then the last two holes, I did make mistakes, so I was not feeling as good. Starting tomorrow I will have an excellent mindset as a new day.”
Kim has been one of the steadiest players on the LPGA Tour this season, recording five top-10 finishes in nine starts, including a runner-up result at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer. According to KPMG Performance Insights, ahead of this week at Pebble Beach, Kim ranked second in strokes gained total (+2.03), third in strokes gained tee-to-green (+1.92) and fifth in strokes gained approach (+1.11). She led the Tour in greens in regulation (75.56%) and scoring average (69.40), also ranking third in rounds under par (28), fourth in driving accuracy (85.60%) and fifth in putts per green in regulation (1.74).
That said, majors don’t care about pre-tournament statistics, and if Kim wants a shot at a second major and sixth career LPGA Tour title, she’ll have to continue that master class of consistency. But like she was with today’s lackluster round, Kim isn’t worried about it. Worse comes to worse, she’s gotten to play Pebble Beach.
“Before I came, I didn't know much about it but I always want to come and play here,” said Kim. “I think this is the first time this U.S. Open is being played here; is that correct? I think that's something different. As I stated yesterday, I have something to brag about. I have played here.”
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