Jenny Shin on Friday took the lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic, a stroke ahead of top-ranked Lydia Ko and Brittany Lang.
Shin birdied five of her first eight holes and had a seven-under 65 to reach 10-under 134 at Aviara in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage.
“It was a really good round,” Shin said. “I hit great shots. I hit great putts. I had a lot of six-footers for birdie, so it was a good day. I think I did a good job placing my ball in the right position and getting the right clubs.”
Photo: AFP
The 23-year-old South Korean player is winless on the LPGA Tour.
“I certainly see myself improving every year,” Shin said. “I feel like in every aspect of the game I am improving just a little bit.”
Ko shot a 67, and Lang had a 68.
Photo: AFP
“I did not strike the ball as well as I did yesterday, especially on my back nine. I had to make up-and-down from a few places,” Ko said. “The rough is rough, so when you get in there, it is tough to get close to the pin or even on the green sometimes. Sometimes I got fortunate, but other times I was able to scramble and I think that is the most important thing around here.”
The 18-year-old Ko was second on Sunday last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix.
“I cannot believe our first major is already around the corner next week,” Ko said. “This is a great swing of events, the Founders Cup, Kia Classic and, obviously, the ANA Inspiration. It is a fun few weeks. I have just got to enjoy it. I have not played as best as I think I could have at ANA, and I think my personal goal is to try and have my personal-best finish.”
Lang is coming off a ninth-place tie in Phoenix.
“It feels really good, especially to have a bogey-free round out there in the afternoon,” Lang said. “Again, super sharp. I was swinging really good at it and made some nice putts coming in. [I] stayed aggressive. [It] feels really good to be in contention again.”
Second-ranked Inbee Park and fellow South Korean player Kim Hyo-joo were eight-under par. Park had a 69, and Kim shot a 66. Jessica Korda (67) and Park Sung-hyun (66) were seven-under par.
Third-ranked Lexi Thompson (68), No. 4 Stacy Lewis (71), No. 6 Jang Ha-na (72) and No. 8 Brooke Henderson (70) were nine strokes back at one-under. Jang won this year in Florida and Singapore, and Thompson won in Thailand. Lewis has a 44-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.
Phoenix winner Kim Sei-young followed her opening 72 with a 74 to make the cut by a stroke at two-over. Last week, the fifth-ranked South Korean player matched Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour scoring record of 27-under, closing with a 10-under 62 for a five-stroke victory.
Michelle Wie also was two-over after rounds of 70 and 76.
Defending champion Cristie Kerr missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 76.
Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling carded a two-under 70, while Kaohsiung-born US player Candie Kung shot a three-under 69. Yani Tseng broke even at 72, giving her a total of two-over par after the second round of the competition.
Min Lee failed to make the cut.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB