Rookie Alison Lee of Valencia posted a 4-under-par 67 to grab a two-stroke lead over Minjee Lee of Australia and Perrine Delacour of France after two rounds of the Kingsmill LPGA Classic at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.
Lee, who left the UCLA golf team in December and turned pro, shot 66 in the first round and came back with six birdies in round two, when her only bogey came on the sixth hole.
“Coming into today I felt really confident, especially after my round yesterday,” said Lee, whose best finish in nine events this year on the LPGA Tour was solo fourth in the Kia Classic. “I was striking the ball well, was putting well, and got it rolling on the front nine.
“Being on the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend definitely gives me an advantage for this week. Anything can happen. This tournament is only halfway over. I’m going to try my best to stay focused and stay in the game.”
Minjee Lee, another rookie, had an eagle on the third hole on her way to a 67, while Delacour eagled the seventh hole en route to a 68.
So Yeon Ryu of South Korea shot 69 and was three shots back in solo fourth, while Suzann Pettersen of Norway carded a 65 and was another stroke back in a tie for fifth with Christina Kim of San Jose, who had a 68, and Catriona Matthew of Sweden and Jing Yan of China, who both came in at 67.
Lexi Thompson recorded a 67 and was five shots down in a tie for ninth with Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, who totaled 71, Angela Stanford, who put up a 70, and Julieta Granada of Paraguay, who came in at 66.
Inbee Park of South Korea, trying to regain the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, shot 67 and was tied for 13th, while top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand had 69 and was in a tie for 22nd that included rookie Brooke Henderson of Canada, who has totaled 69.
