Jessica Korda still has numbness in her jaw after surgery a few months ago, but the feel in her game definitely is back.
Korda birdied five of the first 10 holes while shooting 5-under-par 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Annie Park midway through the inaugural LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City.
“I knew I was going to get certain bounces that weren’t going to be super favorable as the greens got firmer during the afternoon,” said Korda, who claimed her fifth LPGA Tour victory earlier this season in the Honda LPGA Thailand.
“I just stayed patient and stayed with my process and here we are.”
Korda, who has three top-10 finishes in six starts this season, posted a 36-hole score of 9-under 135.
Park, who played at USC, collected seven birdies in a 66, while Charley Hull of England is two shots back in third after a 68, and first-round leader Lydia Ko of New Zealand is one more behind in fourth following a birdie on the last hole to salvage a 70.
Moriya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who claimed her first LPGA Tour victory last week in the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open, shot 68 and is four down in a tie for fifth with Sei Young Kim of South Korea, who had a 70, while fourth-ranked So Yeon Ryu of South Korea totaled 70 and is five strokes behind in a tie for seventh with Minjee Lee of Australia (70), Nasa Hataoka (69) of Japan, and Su Oh (72) of Australia.
Top-ranked Inbee Park shot 71 and is in a tie for 27th that includes sixth-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, who had a 72, while second-ranked Shanshan Feng totaled 71 and is in a tie for 35th that includes third-ranked Lexi Thompson, who struggled to a 75.
Eighth-ranked Cristie Kerr finished at 73 to make the cut on the number in a tie for 57th that includes seventh-ranked I.K. Kim of South Korea, who struggled to a 78.
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