Bethesda, Mo. – Ji Chun took a three-stroke lead with a 3-over 75 shot in the final of the Women’s PGA Championship on Saturday.
On the day the congressional country club harassed the leaders, Chun restrained himself until he made a double bogey on the Par-5 16th hole. The two-time South Korean major champions took the lead with five shots and six halfway points after the first round, but the 36-hole advantage halved. His total was 8-under 208.
Lydia Ko (76) and Jennifer Kupcho (74) – Chun’s teammates – had their problems, but Lexi Thompson and Hi-Jin Choi both scored 70 and finished second in the 5 under with Sei Young Kim (71).
Lime bogeyed at No. 1 and 11, but hit the bird at No. 2 and 12. He had a five-shot lead when he was about to play his third shot from the high grass on the 16th. In areas with tall grass and some dense vegetation, that shot put him in even more trouble. She took an impossible lie and went back to position to hit again.
Chun hits an 8-iron and sends the ball to the green, but she manages to go up and down 7. Cola could not take advantage of the lime accident. He made four of the five holes in one of the next nine stretches, then punched four of the next seven. He finished the round with four straight bogies.
Kupcho made three birdies and three bogeys in the first seven holes and didn’t get much ground on the leader.
Kim ran a relatively drama-free run with two birdies and a bogey. Thompson made three birdies on the last nine, including a putt from about 30 feet on the 15th.
Hannah Green (72) is fifth in 4 under, ahead by a stroke of Athaya Thitikul (68), who was far behind at the start of the day, one of the groups sent out. Brooke Henderson (73), Kupcho and Jennifer Chang (73) finished sixth with a titillation.
